Buzzer Beater

GREENVILLE, N.C. - UTEP took the basketball the length of the floor and McKenzie Moore lofted in a 30-foot three-pointer with one second left to lift the Miners past ECU 68-67 Saturday night in Minges Coliseum.

Moore ended up with 17 points, John Bohannon connected on 11 of 14 from the foul line and finished with a game high 23 points.

The Pirates went on an 11-4 run to open the game on a Ty Armstrong dunk. But UTEP began to claw their way back into the contest. Bohannan tied the game at 25 with 3:34 left in the first half.

Marshall Guilmette and Maurice Kemp, who didn't start the game due to arriving late for a team meeting, scored late in the half as did Robert Sampson before Julian Washburn cut the lead to two at intermission on an up and under move. ECU led 30-28 at halftime/

Moore quickly tied the game to open the second half as both teams went back and forth in a game that contained four lead changes.

Robert Sampson went down with a knee injury and will have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Shamarr Bowden was ejected after a battle and an altercation in the lane that cost ECU a technical foul.

The Pirates opened up as much as a five point lead on a couple of occasions before UTEP(11-7/4-1) fought back. Bohannan hit four free throws and a basket in the last three minutes of the contest. Moore scored on a drive with 19.4 in the game to tie the contest at 65. A Miguel Paul basket in the paint gave ECU(12-7/3-3) a two point lead at 67-65 with 4.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Moore's buzzer beater from the top of the key won the game for the Miners.

Paul scored 20, Armstrong had 13 and Kemp came on late for 10 points. Julian Washburn chipped in with 12 for UTEP.

The Pirates only connected on 37 percent of their shots but hit on 20 of 21 from the charity stripe and 5-17 from the arc.

UTEP dominated in the paint in the second half and won the game despite missing eleven free throws and only hitting 42 percent from the floor overall. The Miners yielded 16 points on ten turnovers to ECU's seven turnovers.