Diaz has 20, Draper 17 as Florida Int. holds off UTEP 79-69
EL PASO, Texas (AP) Adrian Diaz scored 20 points and Daviyon Draper added 17 and grabbed 10 rebounds as Florida International held on to beat UTEP 79-69 on Saturday night.
The Golden Panthers had been cruising until UTEP mounted a charge with 5:13 remaining. Lee Moore drove for a layup that started a 9-0 run as the Miners closed to 70-67 with 2:48 left. FIU's Eric Nottage answered with a trey and the Golden Panthers closed on a 9-2 run.
Donte McGill added 16 points for FIU (11-9, 5-2 Conference USA).
FIU shot 53 percent from the floor while limiting UTEP to 25 of 61 (41 percent).
FIU had a 41-28 halftime advantage and pushed that to 64-43 midway in the second half before the Miners made their late charge.
Moore led UTEP (11-9, 3-4) with 21 points and Omega Harris added 19.
