Birmingham, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - Julian Washburn netted 19 points and hit a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range to lead his second-seeded Texas-El Paso Miners past the 10th-seeded FIU Panthers, 83-71, in the quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Tournament Thursday at Legacy Arena.

Vince Hunter chipped in with 16 points, and Omega Harris added 15 with five rebounds for UTEP (22-9), which advances to the semifinal round Friday to face the sixth-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Earvin Morris collected 14 points, and Cedrick Lang contributed 12 with eight rebounds for the Miners.

Dennis Mavin led the way for FIU (16-17) with 23 points, while Adrian Diaz tallied 13 with five steals. The Panthers ended their three-game win streak in the defeat.

UTEP connected on 66.7 percent of their first-half field goal tries, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and added in a 10-of-12 mark from the free-throw line to go up 47-33 at the intermission. FIU shot just 38.7 percent from the floor in the period.

The Miners only dipped to 52.9 percent shooting in the second half, and added 15-of-20 from the charity stripe to stay well ahead. The Panthers shot 36.4 percent in the frame, and found themselves down at one point by 23 points en route to the defeat.

UTEP held a 25-16 scoring advantage from the free-throw line, and owned a 34-29 rebounding edge over FIU in the win.