UTEP will look to halt a three-game losing skid as it will play host to WKU on Thursday night in the Haskins Center. ‘Texas Western Night’ will tipoff at 7 p.m.
The Miners (13-12, 4-8 Conference USA) will seek out their first league win since defeating Middle Tennessee on January 30 in El Paso, while the Hilltoppers (16-8, 9-3 C-USA) have won their last two games.
WKU defeated LA Tech, 65-54, on February 6, and Southern Miss, 75-72, on February 8 in Bowling Green, Ky. Overall, WKU is 7-2 in its last nine contests. Its previous losses came on the road at Florida Atlantic (69-65) and at FIU (81-76).
UTEP came up short at Charlotte, 68-64, after leading by 10 points in the second half, and followed with its lowest point total of the season (53) in a 19-point loss at ODU.
Daryl Edwards has been a bright spot for the Miners, averaging 20.0 points per games the last two contests. Edwards has also added a 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) effort from three-point range, while totaling six assists.
Souley Boum is hitting 90.0 percent of his free throws, ranking first in C-USA and seventh nationally. The Miners overall are ranked second in C-USA with a 76.1 free-throw percentage. WKU leads the league at 78.7 percent.
WKU lost Charles Bassey (15.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg) 10 games into the season due to injury, as junior Taveion Hollingsworth has been the team’s leading scorer at 14.8 points game. The 6-2 guard also leads the Hilltoppers in assists (67). Hollingsworth is averaging 17.7 points his last 10 games, while he put up 30 points in a win against Charlotte on Jan. 18.
The Hilltoppers lead C-USA and rank eighth nationally in fewest fouls (322). WKU’s scoring offense (76.0) ranks third in the league.
UTEP will host Marshall at Saturday, Feb. 15 as tipoff is set for 2 p.m. C-USA will announce the ‘Bonus Play’ contests on Sunday.
The Miners and Hilltoppers can be heard on UTEP’s flagship station 600 ESPN El Paso with “The Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher and former UTEP basketball player Steven Yellen calling the action. The contest will also be streamed on Stadium on Facebook Live.
Single-game tickets are available by calling (915) 747-5234 or by going online.
