UTEP uses strong second half to defeat North Carolina A&T in opener of Sun Bowl Invitational
A strong second half effort Wednesday night lifted UTEP past North Carolina A&T, 75-62, in the opening round of the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational at the Don Haskins Center.
The 8-3 Miners will face Kent State in Thursday's championship game at 7:30 p.m., which will be preceded by the consolation game at 5:30 p.m. featuring New Mexico State and North Carolina A&T.
The Miners are 8-0 at home this season and are 3-0 all-time against North Carolina A&T.
UTEP shot 58.3% in the second half as guard Shamar Givance scored all 18 of his points in the second half, including 12 straight at one point. The Miners were much better at the free throw line after missing 22 free throws in a win Saturday at home. On Wednesday, UTEP made 14 of 19.
Givance's 18 points were the most for him in a UTEP uniform.
The Miners were also sound on the boards and on defense. North Carolina A&T shot 39.6% from the field and the Miners outrebounded the Aggies, 35-31. The Miners also outscored North Carolina A&T, 48-20, in the post.
UTEP played the entire second half without guard Mario McKinney, Jr., who suffered an apparent leg injury. He was on the bench in the second half.
Kam Woods led the Aggies with 17 points.
Hamilton key for UTEP
UTEP's 6-foot-10, 285-pound Deric Hamilton paced the Miners in the first half with 10 points, making all five of his field goal attempts and the Miners led 31-27 at halftime. He added three rebounds in just more than five minutes on the court. He entered Wednesday's game 8 of 12 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free throw in 32 minutes this season. He finished the game with 11 points, tying a career-best, and five rebounds. The Miners trailed early, 12-4, before settling down and taking the halftime lead.
Fellow forward Ze'rik Onyema scored six points, making all three of his field goal attempts. The Miners outscored the Aggies 24-12 in the paint, got 17 points off the bench and scored 11 points off eight North Carolina A&T turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Marcus Watsson and Demetric Horton led the Aggies with seven points each.
What the winning coach said
"When Derick came in early in the game, the game changed. He did a great job," UTEP coach Joe Golding said. "I'm proud of Shamar, I've been on him hard to be more a leader for us and he responded. We did a good job in the paint, we knew the zone defense was coming and we executed."
What the winning players said
"My teammates are trusting me more and more," Hamilton said. "I was just in the moment and playing with energy."
Added Givance: "My teammates and coaches were a big key for me during the stretch. They encourage me to have confidence and play like I practice. They believe in me. I got into a good rhythm and started making some shots."
More: UTEP hosts tourney What to know about the teams playing in the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP uses strong second half to defeat North Carolina A&T
