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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Matt Gibson started a fast break in front of UTEP's Filiberto Rivera after stealing the ball from the Miners last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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Another one
slips away

UTEP hands the Rainbows their
second straight home defeat

What was perhaps the final chapter in the Western Athletic Conference basketball rivalry between Hawaii and Texas-El Paso did not have a happy ending for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawaii suffered its second straight home loss as UTEP claimed a 71-67 victory in the 51st meeting between the schools last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbows (14-9, 6-8 WAC) dropped consecutive home games for the first time since the 2000-01 season -- a span of 70 games -- and lost for the fourth time in their last five games.

"We didn't hit the big shots, they got the big shots and that makes the difference," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "But it wasn't because of lack of effort, the guys gave everything tonight."

UTEP (21-7, 11-4), which joins Conference USA this summer, kept pace with WAC leader Nevada by beating UH for the third straight time. The Miners remain two games out of first place following their successful end to a three-game road trip.

Seven of UTEP's last nine games have been on the road.

"More than anything, it was heart," UTEP coach Doc Sadler said. "Five minutes into the game they were exhausted, but somehow they dug down deep."

The teams could meet again in the WAC tournament next month, but UH may need to win a play-in game to set up another matchup. The Rainbows are in seventh place in the league and trail SMU by one game for sixth place and a guaranteed spot in the tournament quarterfinals.

UH guard Jake Sottos, who considered attending UTEP coming out of junior college, led the Rainbows with 15 points.

Forward Julian Sensley went from cornerstone of the starting lineup to energizer off the bench, sparking the Rainbows with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.

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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii guard Jake Sottos put up a shot to score two of his 15 points against UTEP's Filiberto Rivera.

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"I do whatever I have to do to help this team win, whether it's starting or coming off the bench," Sensley said. "It's good to start, but coming off the bench didn't hurt. I got to see how they were playing certain people, that's how I think I was able to get those quick buckets and get to the line right when I got in."

Forward Jeff Blackett added 12 points and five assists.

UTEP forward Omar Thomas led the Miners with 27 points while point guard Filiberto Rivera, Sottos' teammate at Southeastern (Iowa) Community College, orchestrated the UTEP attack masterfully with 15 points and six assists.

"He's a great point guard and he took over the game," Wallace said. "We got beat by a better team tonight because he was able to take us apart when he needed to."

The Miners hit 10 of 11 free throws, including four in the clutch in the final 18 seconds to seal the win.

Hawaii, which committed a season-high 21 turnovers against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday, had none in the first 29 minutes last night. But the four they committed came at crucial moments in the second half.

The last came with 33 seconds left. UH trailed 67-64 when a pass from Deonte Tatum sailed out of bounds as the Rainbows were trying to call a timeout.

"I was looking at coach running down and I saw him calling the timeout," Sensley said. "I was turning to tell (Tatum) but the ball was in the air. It was just a miscommunication."

Said Wallace: "The official who was supposed to be in contact with me was not looking. I'm screaming 'timeout' and he didn't call it. There's nothing you can do."

Sensley began the game on the bench for the first time in his two seasons with the Rainbows. The junior entered the game at the 9:36 mark with UTEP in the midst of a 12-1 run that put the Miners up 27-16.

UTEP hit all five of its shots in the run and made 11 of its first 15 from the field.

Sensley and Vaidotas Peciukas then helped spark a rally that closed the UTEP lead to 33-32 at halftime.

"I think (not starting) lit a fire under him," Sadler said. "That's the hardest I've seen him play in a while. I wish he would have started because he came in at a time when they needed a lift."

The Rainbows made their first five shots of the second half to nudge ahead 42-40, but UTEP used a 9-0 spurt to lead 60-54.

UH charged back to tie the game at 62 on a Sottos 3-pointer. After the Miners went back ahead by three, a layup by Peciukas cut the lead to 65-64 with 1:16 to go.

But Thomas answered with a driving bucket, and following UH's final turnover, hit two free throws to give UTEP a five-point cushion with 18.4 seconds left.

Sottos gave UH a glimmer of hope by converting a three-point play with 12.6 seconds left. But Giovanni St. Amant hit two more free throws to seal the win for UTEP.

The Rainbows embark on their last regular-season road trip of the season today. They play at Tulsa on Friday and at Rice on Sunday.

UTEP 71, Hawaii 67

UTEP (21-7, 11-4 WAC)

	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Williams	3	6	1	1	37	5	3	7
St. Amant	3	8	3	4	28	2	2	11
Rivera	6	10	2	2	37	1	6	15
Thomas	11	18	4	4	36	6	1	27
Tofi	3	6	0	0	30	9	0	6
Davis	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Ayala	2	5	0	0	18	2	1	5
Gehrke	0	1	0	0	12	2	2	0
Kimble	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	0
Team	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
Totals	28	55	10	11	200	32	15	71

Hawaii (14-9, 6-8 WAC)

	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Gibson	4	13	0	0	30	1	2	9
Sottos	6	10	1	1	37	3	4	15
Nash	3	9	0	0	23	2	1	6
Blackett	5	9	2	2	20	3	5	12
Botez	3	5	0	0	26	5	3	6
Gipson	0	2	0	1	13	0	1	0
Peciukas	4	4	0	0	17	3	2	8
Tatum	0	3	0	0	13	2	0	0
Sensley	3	5	5	6	21	5	3	11
Team	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Totals	28	60	8	10	200	26	21	67

Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime--UTEP 33, Hawaii 32
3-point goals--UTEP 5-14 (St. Amant 2-5, Ayala 1-2, Thomas 1-2, Rivera 1-4, Williams 0-1), Hawaii 3-15 (Sottos 2-4, Gibson 1-5, Sensley 0-1, Tatum 0-1, Gipson 0-2, Nash 0-2). Personal fouls--UTEP 13, Hawaii 13. Steals--UTEP 1 (Thomas), Hawaii 4 (Botez 2, Gibson, Tatum). Blocked shots--UTEP 2 (Ayala, Thomas), Hawaii 3 (Botez, Peciukas, Sensley). Turnovers--UTEP 10, Hawaii 4. Officials--Bob Sitov, Terry Christman, Ruben Ramos. A--6,808.