College Basketball

UTEP withstands late charge, beats Southern Miss 78-73

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:35 p.m. ET

foxsports

EL PASO, Texas (AP) Dominic Artis and Lee Moore combined for 35 points as UTEP withstood a late Southern Mississippi rally for a 78-73 victory on Thursday night.

Artis had 18 points and seven assists and Moore added 17 points for UTEP (16-11, 8-6 Conference USA) which has won five in a row after dropping six of seven games. Omega Harris added 13 points and Terry Winn chipped in 10 with seven rebounds.

Both teams got hot in the second half as the Miners made 58 percent of their shots and Southern Miss hit 54 percent.

The Golden Eagles took a 50-43 lead with 11:08 left in the second period. UTEP closed to 52-50 and pulled ahead for good after Artis nailed three straight jumpers with 6:32 left. Southern Miss closed to 76-73 with 10 seconds left but Tevin Caldwell's free throws sealed the win.

Kourtlin Jackson led Southern Miss (7-17, 4-9) with 17 points.