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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
UTEP (Sun Bowl Tournament)
UTEP Runs Away from Tigers, 68-42, in Sun Bowl Championship Game
December 28, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2004
EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP Miners managed to do things against Princeton Tuesday night that hadn't been done against the Tigers all year. The result was an impressive win over the Tigers that showcased why the Miners may be very dangerous come March.
UTEP shot 49% against a Princeton team allowing just 36% shooting coming into the game. The Miners scored 68 points against a Tiger team allowing just 50 per game. 26 of those points came off turnovers, including four in a key 8-0 late first-half UTEP run, and the Miners then clamped down on defense in the second half on the way to a 68-42 win over the Tigers in the championship game of the Sun Bowl Tournament at the Don Haskins Center.
UTEP (10-2), which won its sixth straight game, took charge Tuesday night thanks to that stunning game-changing run late in the first half. Giovanni St. Amant stole a Scott Greenman pass and dunked to give the Miners a 27-23 lead, and Jason Williams then scored off an offensive rebound of his own missed shot to put the Miners ahead by six. Williams then got behind the Tiger defense for a dunk with 1:15 on the clock to put UTEP ahead 31-23, and Filberto Rivera then stole a pass and scored with 44 seconds on the clock to suddenly put the Miners ahead by 10. "The last three minutes of the first half decided the game," said Princeton head coach Joe Scott. "A couple turnovers, some easy fast-break baskets and dunks, and the crowd gets into it. We played well for the first 17 minutes."
The Miners then continued that momentum into the second half, scoring the half's first six points to take a 14-point lead on a jumper by tournament MVP Omar Thomas (17 points). The Tigers (6-4), who committed a season-high 16 turnovers, never got closer than nine points after that."
"I think people want us to be where we were at last March," said UTEP head coach Doc Sadler, who was an assistant coach on last year's team that nearly upset Maryland in the NCAA tournament, "but it's not March yet. Our kids have worked very hard, and I think you saw that kind of effort yielding results tonight."
Princeton, which made 6 of its 13 first-half three-point attempts and took a seven-point midway through the half, made just 4 of 19 shots in the second half (21%) and just 2 of 17 three-point attempts in the second half.
Judson Wallace, Princeton's representative on the All-Tournament Team, led Princeton early on thanks to some spectacular shooting from three-point range. Wallace made all four of his first-half three-point attempts, extending a streak that began Monday to seven in a row, and his third "three" of the night gave the Tigers that 19-12 lead. But the Tigers then went on their first cold streak of the night from the field, and UTEP would score 11 straight points to take a 23-19 lead on two Filiberto Rivera free throws.
Wallace quieted the crowd with his fourth three-pointer after that to break a seven-minute Princeton scoreless string, but UTEP then used its big late run to take a 33-25 halftime lead.
Princeton was within 39-30 after Mike Stephens scored inside with 16 minutes left in the game, but UTEP scored the next 10 points to take an insurmountable lead. Eight of those 10 points came at the free-throw line, where the Miners finished the game 29-for-36 (81%).
Wallace was Princeton's only player in double figures, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the first half. The rest of the Tigers combined to shoot 7 for 27 from the field and 4 for 22 from three-point range.
Jason Williams led UTEP with 19 points and also added nine rebounds and four assists. The Miners won the Sun Bowl Tournament, the nation's oldest holiday college basketball tournament, for the second straight year.
The 26-point loss was Princeton's biggest since a 76-45 defeat at Texas Christian in December of 2000.
Tulane's Taylor Rochestie, Alabama State's George Savage and UTEP's Rivera joined Wallace and MVP Thomas on the All-Tournament Team.
Princeton returns home to face Loyola Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers played nine of their first 10 games away from home, finishing that stretch 3-4 in road games and 2-0 in neutral-site games.