No. 10 Lobos Upset At Utep

Top 25

Texas-El Paso found No. 10 New Mexico in the best possible place Thursday night - on the road.

Winners of 25 straight home games, the Lobos’ struggles outside of The Pit continued as UTEP held off New Mexico for a 71-62 victory.

The Miners’ defense was stingy but the Lobos were also to blame, shooting just 33 percent while falling to 3-5 on the road.

UTEP’s Kimani Jones-Young cautioned that UTEP should get its due.

“I don’t know who ranks teams, but this is a tough place to play,” said Jones-Young, who led the Miners with 21 points. “Don’t try to take anything away from us. They came out flat and we put them away.”

The victory increased the struggling Miners’ (11-12, 5-9 Western Athletic Conference) slim chances of making the WAC’s postseason tournament.

New Mexico (20-5, 9-4) entered the game tied for second place.

“Our troubles on the road are because there are a lot of good teams out there,” Lobos coach Dave Bliss said. “I’m just grateful for all those wins in The Pit.”

(9) S. Carolina 85, Citadel 55

At Charleston, S.C., Nate Wilbourne had a season-high 20 points to lead the Gamecocks (20-6) to a victory over the Bulldogs (12-13), giving South Carolina its first 20-win season in six years.

(11) Cincinnati 76, S. Florida 56

At Tampa, Fla., Danny Fortson scored Cincinnati’s first 15 points and finished with 30 to lead the Bearcats (21-5, 9-1 Conference USA) to a rout of the Bulls (7-16, 1-10).

Marquette 79, (15) L’ville 71 (OT)

At Milwaukee, sophomore Jarrod Lovette sent the game into overtime with two free throws and finished with career highs of 19 points and 15 rebounds as the Golden Eagles (16-7, 7-4 Conference USA) beat the Louisville Cardinals (20-6, 7-4).

(16) Xavier 82, Duquesne 74

At Pittsburgh, Lenny Brown scored 20 points and led a 20-4 second-half run as the Musketeers (19-4, 10-3 Atlantic 10) avoided another upset loss to Duquesne, rallying from 12 points down to beat the Dukes.

Iowa 80, (18) Michigan 75

At Iowa City, Iowa, Andre Woolridge scored 25 points to lift the Hawkeyes (17-8, 8-5 Big Ten) to a victory over the Wolverines (17-8, 7-6).

(22) Charleston 81, SE Louisiana 68

At Charleston, S.C., Anthony Johnson scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half, helping the Cougars (24-2, 15-0 Trans-America Athletic Conference) extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games with a win over the Lions (9-16, 7-8).