Reeling Pirates head to the Don

Hoping to capitalize once again at home, the Miners will host East Carolina Jan. 18 at the Don Haskins Center.

"I continue to tell people that we have to take care of home-court to have a chance at this conference and to have a chance at post season," senior forward Gabriel McCulley said.

The Pirates are in the midst of a 3-game losing streak sitting at 9-7 overall, 0-3 in Conference USA.

East Carolina is averaging 72.5 points per game with junior guard Miguel Paul leading the team in scoring, averaging 16 points per game. Senior forward Darrius Morrow is just behind at 13.6 points per game. East Carolina has struggled on the road this season, winning just one away game and another at a neutral site, while UTEP has won 19 of its last 20 conference home games.

"They are a good team as far as I know. They have always been a scrappy team," McCulley said. "I know they have the guy inside Morrow, one of the best big men in our conference. We are going to have to scrap because our conference right now is a dog fight, anybody can win any night."

The last outing the Miners had at home was against SMU when senior forward Robert Nyakundi silenced the crowd with his 3-pointer that initially won the game for the Mustangs. After officials reviewed the shot, which was taken with 0.5 seconds remaining, they ruled that the ball did not leave Nyakundi's hand in time.

"He scared me at the end and I thought it was game. In my eyes, he is something like a Reggie Miller. He has a quick shot like a quick rifle," McCulley said. "I was hoping he didn't get it off. I didn't want to foul him, but luckily he didn't get it off on time. I can thank the basketball gods for that one."

In overtime, the Miners took control when McCulley, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, drained a three and sophomore forward John Bohannon, who tied a career-high with 20 points and added eight rebounds, made two free throws to put the Miners up 58-53. UTEP never looked back and was able to secure the 70-64 victory.

"I just felt like I didn't want to lose this game at home. The thing that was going through my mind the whole game was trying to find a way to win," McCulley said. "Overall, I think we could have done better the first half. Their offense is not an easy offense to guard. They use a lot of back-cuts so you have to stay disciplined."

The Miners had three players finish in double digits, including sophomore guard Michael Perez, who had 16 points.

"I was trying to stay within the rhythm of the game. We wanted to take our opportunities in the open floor," Perez said. "We felt like it is easier to play that way than to let them keep switching man-to-man, zone defenses so we ran our man offense against it."

The first half of the game was a different story. The Miners only made 42.9 percent of their shots attempted in the first half compared to 52.2 in the second half. They also capitalized on points off turnovers in the second half with a total of 20 when they only had three points off turnovers to begin the second half. UTEP trailed 27-23 at the half.

"We had envisioned a game like this. They guarded us exceedingly well and I think that was one of our lowest half-point totals," Floyd said. "What helped change the game for us were the picks and steals by Perez and (freshman forward) Julian Washburn that lead to easy transition baskets."

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