UTEP powers past Florida International for 5th consecutive win, 79-68

EL PASO, Texas - Souley Boum poured in a season-high 32 points (two shy of career high) while Tydus Verhoeven had a double-double (14 points, career-best 13 rebounds) and Jamal Bieniemy (13 points, six assists) and Alfred Hollins (11 points) also reached double figures in scoring to help the UTEP men’s basketball team surge past FIU, 79-68, inside the Don Haskins Center Saturday evening.  

The Miners trailed 48-40 with 14:52 to play in regulation before unleashing a 21-5 run to lead by eight (61-53) with 8:36 to play.

The Panthers made a couple of attempts at getting back into the game, but UTEP would not have it.

The Miners closed out the contest in style to seal their fifth straight win, their longest conference win streak since 2017.

UTEP also matched its best record in league play through nine games since C-USA implemented an 18-game slate in 2014.

“FIU is very, very talented and they’re hard to guard,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “Overall I’m happy for our guys. We took care of home court with two wins this week. The second half we did a much better job of getting stops and rebounding the basketball. We went on that run when we were down 48-40. We  were able to get some steals, rebound the basketball and get some easy baskets and I thought that changed the game.”

The Miners had 19 assists on 26 made field goals. UTEP forced the visitors into 17 turnovers, which led to 17 Miner points.

UTEP got off to a 3-0 lead on a trey by Bieniemy before five straight points put FIU up for the first time of the tilt.

The Miners were down 7-6 before five straight points on a triple from Hollins and a Boum pull-up jumper catapulted UTEP back into the lead. 

It was a five-point Miner cushion (22-17) with 10:03 left in the half after Boum’s second triple of the contest.

FIU struck back and led by nine (32-23) with 5:39 to play in the period but once again Boum had an answer.

He nailed yet another triple to halt the run and get the Miners to within six (32-26).

The Panthers used two free throws to go back out by eight before back-to-back scores by Verhoeven down low made it a four-point affair (34-30) with 3:33 to play in the half.

A Verhoeven dunk brought the Miners within two (36-34) with 1:09 to play.

It remained a two-point differential (38-36) in favor of the visitors heading into the locker room.

FIU scored the first five points of the second stanza to lead by seven (43-38, 18:25 2H), but UTEP kept it together.

The Panthers were up by eight when the Miners made their move, stringing together stops and scores for the 21-5 game-altering run.

It began with nine in a row for the Orange and Blue, forcing FIU into a timeout. Boum had six of nine in the stretch.

Two free throws from FIU stopped the surge for a moment, but Christian Agnew (seven) immediately reinstated UTEP’s lead with an athletic lay-up that banked off the glass to make it 51-50 with 11:48 remaining in regulation.

After FIU went up by two (53-51), UTEP ripped off 10 in a row to lead by eight (61-53). The Panthers tried to get back into the game, but UTEP countered every attempted run with key baskets, including a Hollins and-one with 6:29 to play in the game to make it a seven-point lead (66-59). They would not get any closer as UTEP had a response for every surge.

The Miners now hit the road to play at North Texas at 6 p.m. MT on Thursday (Feb. 3). Jon Teicher (41st) year will be on the call, which can be followed on the "Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso, the UTEP Miners App and ESPN+.