UTEP Miners at Mississippi State Bulldogs

Holman's 18 lift Mississippi State to 61-54 win

"Can you believe he ran a triangle and two on November 20?" smiled Howland at his longtime friend and one-time LA rival, UTEP coach Tim Floyd.

Howland, UCLA's coach from 2003-2013, squared off against Floyd's USC teams from 2006 through 2009 with the Bruins winning seven of the 10 matchups. This time, Howland left a winner, too, as Aric Holman scored 18 points and Lamar Peters had 13 points, including a critical four-point play that snapped the Bulldogs from a shooting funk, in a 61-54 victory over the Miners. Mississippi State left with two straight wins and fifth place at the Charleston Classic.

"I'm just excited about our team never quits, never gives up," Howland said.

The Bulldogs (3-1) trailed 15-4 early and 43-35 in the second half as they started 1 of 10 from the field. That's when Peters struck for a 3-pointer and got fouled, which seemingly woke up Mississippi State.

"Coach always tells me to look for my opportunities," Peters said. "I just wanted to do whatever it took to help the team."

The 6-foot-10 Holman did, too. His last basket was a thunderous jam with 5:22 to go that broke a 49-all tie. Mississippi State did not trail again.

"At the end of the day, the main thing was just to keep my team going," Holman said. "Get defensive stops because our defense leads to our offense."

Dominic Artis scored 15 points and Matt Willms had 12 points and 11 rebounds for UTEP. But the Miners lost their shooting touch in the second half, going just 7 of 26 from the field and missing their final four shots to lose two of their three tournament games.

Floyd, critical of his club after their 10-3-81 loss to Wake Forest here Thursday, left much more pleased about what the Miners could become. The defense, he said, improved over the week's three games and Artis and Willms took control of the attack.

"That was a real, real positive for us," Floyd said.

Howland said he and Floyd were friendly during his time in Westwood when fans of the rivalry wanted only hate for the Trojans.

He and Floyd hadn't faced each other since USC's 65-55 win over UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament in 2009. Howland doesn't enjoy facing coaches he considers friends. "I hope we don't have to do it again," he said. "I really do."

Floyd enjoyed seeing Howland this weekend, too.

"Great respect for him," Floyd said. "Mississippi State's got the right guy."

BIG PICTURE

UTEP: The Miners have a dynamic guard in Dominic Artis and a solid post player in 7-foot-1 Matt Willms. But if those two struggle, UTEP is often left forcing shots. Starter Jake Flaggert, a three-point specialist, was just 1 of 7 from behind the arc while Paul Thomas, also a starter, struggled from the field at 3 of 8 and was hurt by foul trouble. The Miners will have to discover a reliable third option quickly.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Quinndary Weatherspoon. But when Weatherspoon is off his game, as he was against UTEP, Mississippi State is stuck for reliable shooters. Aric Holman was dominant inside before fouling out with 86 seconds left. Take away Holman's 8 of 10 shooting and the Bulldogs were 13 of 42 from the field.

INJURED Q

Ben Howland said leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon would have an MRI on his left wrist, injured Friday in Southern Mississippi's win over Boise State. "We don't know how bad it might be," Howland said. "That's what concerns me."

UP NEXT

UTEP returns home for a two-game stretch, starting against Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday night.

Mississippi State begins a five-game run at home when it faces Lehigh on Friday night

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