UTEP rolls to 4th straight win, beating Howard 69-56 (Dec 21, 2017)
EL PASO, Texas (AP) Keith Frazier, Omega Harris and Tirus Smith combined for 57 points to lead UTEP to its fourth straight win, a 69-56 thumping of Howard in the Sun Bowl Invitational on Thursday night.
UTEP (5-6) will play North Dakota State, which scorched UNC Wilmington 100-63 in the opening game, for the championship on Friday. UTEP last won the tournament in 2014.
The Miners opened on a 24-7 run before Howard rallied to close to 37-30 at the break. Harris opened the second half drilling two 3-pointers and scoring the first 10 points to start an 18-9 run that led to a 55-39 advantage midway of the period as the Miners cruised to victory.
Frazier finished with 23 points, hitting four from distance, with eight rebounds. Harris was 7 of 14 from the floor for 17 points with four assists and Smith finished with a career-high 17 points. He has scored 32 in the last two games.
RJ Cole led Howard (2-12) with 17 points.
