C.J. Cooper scored six points in the second extra period to lead the Texas-El Paso Miners to a 76-68 victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in a Conference USA double-overtime thriller at the Don Haskins Center.
Cooper finished with a team-high 16 points for UTEP (14-13, 7-6 C-USA), while Julian Washburn and John Bohannon added 14 points each. Gabriel McCulley got into the mix with 12 points while Jacques Streeter showed off his versatility with 10 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Miners.
Darnell Dodson paced Southern Miss (22-6, 9-4) with 16 points off the bench. Jonathan Mills recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, LaShay Page added 12 points, and Angelo Johnson scored 11 points as the Golden Eagles lost for the second straight time.
Southern Miss took a 30-23 lead into the intermission after it shot 40 percent from the floor and connected on 6-of-11 attempts from three-point range in the opening period. The Miners made 42.9 percent of their field goals in the first half, but fell behind after they missed all four of their three-point attempts.
UTEP battled back after the break by shooting 59.1 percent from the field and converting on 5-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles let their lead slip away as they made only 35.7 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes. Southern Miss led 56-54 before Cooper knocked down a jump shot to tie it up with 10 seconds left. After Neil Watson missed at the buzzer, the game progressed into overtime.
The Golden Eagles led 63-62 with 30 seconds left in the first overtime period before McCulley made 1-of-2 from the foul line to tie it up. Dodson missed a potentially game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer which send the game into a second overtime.
UTEP held a 39-25 advantage in the rebounding battle. Southern Miss shot 11- of-20 from the charity stripe in the contest, while the Miners knocked down 22-of-26 from the free throw line.
Game Notes
