HOUSTON -- Dominic Artis had 14 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals, Paul Thomas had a double-double and UTEP beat Rice 79-71 on Saturday night for its seventh straight win in the series.
Thomas had 17 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, and 10 rebounds and Omega Harris scored 15 points for UTEP (11-15, 9-5 Conference USA), which has won three in a row, and six of its last seven, overall.
Harris hit a 3 to make it 5-0, added another that capped an 11-1 run and made it 16-6 with 12:36 left in the half and the Miners never trailed.