Gabriel McCulley scored 18 points and UTEP defeated Houston 67-62 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament on Wednesday night.
The Miners (15-16) were 3 of 4 in the extra period, while Houston went just 2 of 9.
Tied at 60 with 3:11 to play, UTEP scored seven straight starting with McCulley's 3. After a John Bohannon layup, the eighth-seeded Miners went 2 of 6 from the free-throw line to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 seed Memphis on Thursday.
Houston (15-15) went 1 of 6 from the field and 0 of 2 from the free-throw line during the final 3 minutes.
Bohannon finished with 16 points, Michael Perez added 14 and Julian Washburn had 10 for the Miners, who snapped a three-game skid.
The Cougars were led by Alandise Harris with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and TaShawn Thomas with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
