Miner Ball

The UTEP basketball season is back and this is going to be an exciting season. Veterans Julian Washburn, Jon Bohannon, CJ CooperMckenzie Moore and Cedric Lang return to a team with some fresh faces. Freshmen Vincent Hunter, Matt Willms, Tevin Caldwell and Josh Brown join this tournament ready team. The Miners started the season with a solid win against loyola 84-49. Freshman Matt Wilms contributed with 20 points to lead this very confident team. Four of the Miners scored in double figures along with Senior Jon Bohannon contributing 16 points and 8 rebounds. The Miners did well on defense and this win gives them confidence going into a rivalry game on Friday.

UTEP travels to New Mexico State on Friday. The Aggies were a tournament team last year and this rivalry game will be very much heated and tough for both squads. The Aggies are currently 2-1 and are looking to be one of the standout teams this season int he WAC conference. The game will be in Las Cruces but will be shown on ESPN3. The real competition for the Miners will be Thanksgiving weekend when the Miners face Tennessee in the Battle for Atlantis basketball tournament which also features Xavier, USC, Kansas and a variety of other schools. Top Ranked Kansas could possibly face UTEP in what would give the Miners a hard test Im sure they would be ready for though.