UTEP blows 22-point lead but still beats Charlotte in dramatic fashion

UTEP beat Charlotte on the road Thursday night despite blowing a 22-point first half lead.

Paul Thomas played the role of hero, hitting a short turnaround jumper with 2.6 seconds to go in the game to give UTEP (8-17 overall) a much-needed win

“We drew up a play. I don’t even remember the play. I just remember me wanting the ball,” said Thomas. “And I knew if I got it, I was going to try to go up with it and win the game.”

Thomas finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Isiah Osborne and Evan Gilyard each added 22 of their own to give UTEP its third conference victory this season (3-11).

UTEP entered the game tied for 12th place out of 14 teams in Conference USA. Only Charlotte, their opponent Thursday, had a worse league record.

The 13th and 14th place teams at the end of the regular season don’t even qualify for the conference tournament. So, this was a big game for both teams.

“Our guys really, really brought a tremendous effort. We got up 22 points, and they fought back,” said UTEP interim head coach Phil Johnson. “And I give Charlotte a lot of credit because for two of the bottom three teams it was as hard fought a game as we’ve seen this season. And they shot lights out.”

The win for UTEP also marked the first time this season the Miners have won a true road game. It came in their 25th overall contest this season.

The Miners saw their big lead slip away near the end of the first half when Charlotte simply caught fire. The 49ers connected on 14 of their 24 attempts from downtown for the game (58.3%).

But UTEP was able to answer from deep, hitting 11 of their 20 shots from beyond the arc (55%).

The Miners will next play at Old Dominion on Saturday. UTEP has not won back-to-back games since defeating Incarnate Word and Howard in December.