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UTEP drops buzzer bomb on Pirates

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Sophomore guard McKenzie Moore nailed a three-pointer from well beyond NBA range as time expired to lift Texas-El Paso from a two-point deficit to a 68-67 Conference USA triumph over East Carolina Saturday night in Greenville.

Moore's buzzer beater gave the Miners (11-7, 4-1 C-USA) their only lead of the second half, touching off a celebration among UTEP's players and deflating in silence what had one second earlier been the exuberant tension of the season-high Minges Coliseum crowd of 6,121.

The Pirates (12-7, 3-3) led by as much as nine in the first half and, after a brief tie in the opening minute of the final frame, maintained an edge until Moore knotted the score at 65 on a jump shot with 19 seconds left.

Senior point guard Miguel Paul, who paced ECU with 20 points, scored on a driving layup with 4.4 ticks remaining to put the Pirates in position to prevail.

During the timeout before the final play, senior guard Jacques Streeter was designated by Miners coach Tim Floyd as the preferred shooter. When Streeter brought the ball well into the frontcourt, he found himself challenged by the ECU defense and sent a pass backwards to the trailing Moore near half court. Moore fired off the deadly long-range jump shot and the outcome was settled.

Junior 6-10 center John Bohannon came off the UTEP bench to plague the Pirates for 30 minutes, leading all scorers with 23 points and hauling in a team-high 9 rebounds. McKenzie finished with 17 points and sophomore forward Julian Washburn added 12.

Paul's offensive heroics for ECU were supplemented by junior forward Ty Armstrong with 13 points and senior forward Maurice Kemp with 10.

Attrition in their ranks handicapped the Pirates in the crucial latter stages of the contest.

Junior forward Robert Sampson, who led the Pirates in rebounding with 9, went out of the game with an apparent knee injury, and Armstrong and freshman forward Marshall Guilmette fouled out.

ECU senior guard Shamarr Bowden was ejected with 12:30 remaining for throwing a punch.

The Pirates finish their two-game home stand on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. matchup against league juggernaut Memphis. The Tigers (16-3, 5-0) held off C-USA foe Marshall Saturday afternoon 73-72.

ECU mounted a furious rally when it clashed with Memphis at FedExForum on Jan. 9, chopping a 27-point deficit to five before fading at the end in a 67-54 loss.

PAGE UPDATED 02/03/13 01:59 AM.

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