Tim Floyd’s Miners gave themselves a chance, but they would run out of gas down the stretch, and withered in the final minutes falling to Mississippi State 61-54 in the Charleston Classic 5th place consolation game.
Down 56-54 with 2:55 left in the game, UTEP came up empty on two consecutive possessions with a chance for a tie or the lead, then Mississippi State dropped a late dagger to deflate another encouraging UTEP effort.
UTEP started hot on both sides of the floor, but it was a competitive first half that went back-and-forth for the entire opening 20 minutes.