Miners center Wayne Portalatin shoots a free throw while, from left, Tulsa guard Glenn Andrews, UTEP guard Stefon Jackson and Tulsa forward Bishop Wheatley jockey for rebounding position.
Miners host Military Appreciation Night
UTEP takes Tulsa, 65-61
The University of Texas at El Paso Miners men’s basketball team brought their record to 12-6 Saturday with a 65-61 win over the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane as the Miners celebrated Military Appreciation Night at the Don Haskins Center.
During a halftime program where game sponsors were honored with a game ball, representatives of Raytheon presented the company’s game ball to Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Jordan of Bay City, Mich., a Soldier with the 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
Jordan was awarded the Purple Heart in a ceremony Sept. 12 for injuries sustained in combat while deployed to Iraq with the 4-1 Cav. Following the presentation of the game ball, Jordan received a standing ovation from the crowd.
The game looked at first to be an easy victory for the Miners, who broke out early in the first half. By halftime, though, Tulsa was leading by one point, with the score 30-29.
Miners guard Marvin Kilgore, left, defends against Tulsa guard Rod Earls as Earls looks for an open passing lane.
UTEP guard Stefon Jackson turned it on during the second half, scoring 24 of his 29 points and securing a Miners victory. The Golden Hurricane cut the Miners’ lead to two points when, with 22 seconds left in the game, Tulsa guard Rod Earls made a three pointer, was fouled and made good on the ensuing free throw.
With the score at 63-61 in favor of the Miners, Jackson sealed the UTEP victory when he was fouled on the inbounding play and made the set of two free throws.
The win brought the Miners’ Conference USA record to 3-2.