Middle Tennessee eliminates UTEP in C-USA tournament semifinals

The last time the UTEP Miners had been to the Conference USA finals was back in 2011, and it seems the Miners will have to wait another season to get their chance.

The UTEP Miners Men’s Basketball team lost to Middle Tennessee in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament 82-56.

The Miners only lead was the first basket of the game, before the Blue Raiders responded with a 17-5 run to open an early 10 point lead.

The Blue Raiders scored 25 points off 18 UTEP turnovers, while the Miners only shot 20 percent from three compared to Middle Tennessee’s 38 percent.

But scoring was an issue during this rematch against MTSU as only Paul Thomas scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting while Omega Harris hit 6 of 11 shots and finished with 17 points for No. 4 seed UTEP (15-17). The rest of the Miners shot just 23 percent (7 of 30) from the field.

UTEP is now eliminated from the postseason and a chance at a bid to the NCAA Tournament. But the team still produced an excellent second half of the season considering the team started the year with a horrid 2-13 record.

Middle Tennessee has won 19 of its last 20 games, including nine in row — its third win streak of at least eight games this season.