Conference USA Tournament Recaps

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.

Final Score: Middle Tennessee 59, Old Dominion 52

Birmingham, AL (SportsNetwork.com) – Perrin Buford netted 17 points with five rebounds as the sixth-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders downed the third- seeded Old Dominion Monarchs, 59-52, in the quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Tournament at Legacy Arena.

Jaqawn Raymond added 13 points with four assists for Middle Tennessee (18-15), which advances to the semifinal round of the conference tournament Friday to face second-seeded Texas-El Paso. Reggie Upshaw narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds in the win.

Trey Freeman scored 24 points with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals to pace Old Dominion (24-7), which saw its six-game win streak come to an end. Javonte Douglas contributed 10 points in the losing effort.

Middle Tennessee converted on 40.9 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half, helping the Blue Raiders claim a 25-20 lead as the teams broke for the intermission. Old Dominion made 34.8 percent of its shots in the period, and went just 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

The Monarchs boosted their shooting accuracy to 50 percent in the second half, while the Raiders fell to 35 percent shooting in the frame. But a 17-of-22 mark from the free-throw line allowed Middle Tennessee to maintain its advantage for the upset victory.

The Blue Raiders outscored the Monarchs from the charity stripe, 22-8, and held a 16-5 advantage in points off turnovers in the win.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball