Losing streak hits four, attention now on Tulsa

In a game featuring nine lead changes, six ties and the largest lead being eight points, it came down to one last shot to determine a winner between UTEP and UAB Feb. 4 at the Don Haskins Center.

Down by one with nine seconds left, sophomore guard Michael Perez missed the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, resulting in the Miners' first Conference-USA home loss of the season Feb. 4 to UAB, 61-60.

"Any loss hurts, but losing like this is tough and it hurts. It is a learning experience so we got to take what we learn from this and keep going forward," sophomore center John Bohannon said. "I am 20-years old and I have been playing this game long enough to know that every roll is not going to go your way and the ball is not going to bounce your way every time."

UTEP was able to take the lead with 14 minutes left in the second half for the first time since the beginning of the first half. The Miners also went on a 13-4 run to lead 40-35 midway through the second half.

"You are not going to have a perfect game every night. Everybody is going to struggle some nights. Even Michael Jordan struggled some nights," senior forward Gabriel McCulley said. "It is on the defensive end; you got to get stops and keep the opposing team from scoring. I think we did that late in the second half and most of the second half, but we just couldn't put two halves together on the defensive end."

Although the Miners finished the first half with a 46.4 percent shooting percentage, they found themselves trailing the Blazers 31-27. One of the reasons they fell behind is due to same problem UTEP has been dealing with since last season: rebounding. The Miners were outrebounded by UAB in the first half 21-13, including 10-4 on the offensive glass.

"Of the caliber teams we have lost to, we have beaten better teams. We just got to start getting wins under our belt," Bohannon said. "We could see improvement and I think we are getting better but now we got to transfer it to the win column."

UTEP was dominant in the paint through most of the game with 30 points coming from the interior. Bohannon led the way with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Freshman forward Julian Washburn was the only other player to score in double figures with 16 points.

"I like the improvement that Bohannon is making on the interior," head coach Tim Floyd said. "I like the improvement that Julian Washburn is making right now as both a defender and a scorer. He is limiting his turnovers and giving us a chance on both ends of the court."

UAB's bench provided 26 points compared to UTEP's two points off the bench. Sophomore guard Jordan Swing was 5-of-8 from the perimeter and provided the spark the Blazers needed with 19 points off the bench.

"We had too much of Jordan Swing offensively who had not played their previous games due to a broken hand and stepped in and obviously made big shots," Floyd said. "We were exposed a little bit on the defensive end late in the game. We had too much of Cameron Moore defensively. He changed a lot of shots and blocked a lot as well. On the boards, he is averaging 11 boards and he got his 11 boards."

After a heartbreaking loss like this, the lone senior kept his team composed.

"I tell these guys to keep their head up," McCulley said. "The last couple of games were a two-point game, one-point game, overtime games and we are a young team. We have to get through it. We are in a slump right now but once we get that one win, we will be fine."

UTEP will host Tulsa Feb. 8 at the Don Haskins Center in a rematch of a game they lost Jan. 11 at Tulsa 59-48.

"We have Tulsa on our next one, a team that beat us on the road. There is not much difference between the team that we just played (UAB) and the Tulsa group we are going to see in here on Wednesday," Floyd said.

Frankie Rodriguez may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.