UTEP wins third straight; sweeps UTSA with 59-54 road win
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - UTEP Head Coach Joe Golding knew exactly what his 59-54 win over UTSA meant on Sunday.
"That's a winning streak!" said an excited Golding on ESPN radio postgame. "Two games isn't a winning streak, three games is."
The Miners not only secured their third straight win, but continued to show poise on the road in Golding's first year.
Jamal Bieniemy finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Jorell Saterfield finished with 15 as the Miners fended off a late rally from the Roadrunners.
Saterfield connected on five three-pointers, just three days after hitting six from beyond the arc in a win over UTSA at the Haskins Center.
The Miners jumped on UTSA for the opening ten minutes. Fueled by Saterfield's shooting and two dunks from reserve big man Ze'Rik Onyema, UTEP led 19-6 at the 11-minute mark.
UTSA closed the gap to 44-42 in the second half, but the Bieniemy and Souley Boum took over to close it out.
For Bieniemy, it was his sixth consecutive game in double figures. The Oklahoma transfer has really started to come into his own since scoring a career-high 28 in a January 6th loss to Louisiana Tech.
"I told him from day one we judge point guards on wins or losses," said Golding of Bieniemy. "Absolutely we look at stats, we watch tape. But at the end of the day you either win or you lose as a point guard. And today he won."
UTEP (10-8, 4-3 C-USA) now can add to their winning streak with two home games upcoming against Florida Atlantic and Florida International.
The Owls (11-8, 4-2 C-USA), Thursday night's opponent, currently lead the C-USA Eastern Division.
The road victory also gave UTEP four away from home all season.
