UTEP (14-13, 6-7 C-USA), which snapped a three-game losing streak with an 85-56 rout of SMU on Wednesday at the Don Haskins Center, shoots for a second consecutive victory on Saturday at East Carolina (5-21, 0-13 C-USA) ... tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. MST ... UTEP is 2-6 in its last eight games and hasn’t recorded consecutive wins since Jan. 17-20 ... the Pirates suffered their 13th consecutive loss on Wednesday, 54-51 to Marshall in Greenville ... East Carolina’s last victory came on Jan. 6, a 68-50 pasting of Chowan University in Greenville ... the Pirates are 4-9 at home this season and have lost their last seven games at 8,000-seat Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum ... UTEP is 1-7 on the road, including 1-5 in C-USA play with a win at SMU, 72-67, on Jan. 20 ... the Miners are 1-10 in their last 11 road games dating back to the 2005-06 season ... UTEP enters Saturday’s game in a five-way tie for sixth place in the C-USA standings with Marshall, Tulane, Tulsa and UAB ... the Miners will wrap up the regular season slate by hosting Memphis next Thursday (March 1) on Senior Night and playing at Houston on Saturday, March 3.

On The Air ...

The game will be televised in El Paso on Time Warner Cable MetroSports Southwest Channel 24 ... English and Spanish radio coverage is available on KOFX 92.3 FM and ESPN Deportes 1150 AM respectively ... Jon Teicher (play-by-play) and Steve Yellen (color) are the English broadcasters, while Omar Ropele (play-by-play) is the Spanish announcer.

Scouting East Carolina ...

The Pirates led 31-27 at the half, but were outscored 27-20 by Marshall in the second half in Wednesday’s 54-51 loss to the Thundering Herd ... Mark Dorris’ jumper with 28 seconds left broke a 51-51 tie and sent Marshall to the victory ... freshman forward John Fields scored 11 points and junior guard Darrell Jenkins added 10 for East Carolina, which shot 20 percent in the second half and 29.5 percent for the game ... Jenkins is averaging 12.4 ppg on the season and senior guard Courtney Captain is averaging 10.7 ppg ... East Carolina is last in C-USA in scoring offense (58.2 ppg), scoring margin (-7.8 ppg), free throw percentage (.560), field goal percentage (.390) and blocked shots (2.8 bpg) ... Jenkins leads C-USA in assists (5.5 apg), Fields is second in field goal percentage (.618) and freshman forward Gabe Blair is third in rebounding (7.3 rpg).

Series Notes ...

UTEP won the only previous meeting between the schools, 58-45, on Jan. 14, 2006 in the Don Haskins Center.

Miners Versus East Carolina ...

Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson and Maurice Thomas all played in last year’s UTEP-East Carolina game ... Henderson started, played 34 minutes and scored three points (1-for-7 FGs, 0-for-4 3FGs, 1-for-2 FTs) with four rebounds and five assists ... Jackson contributed two points (1-for-4 FGs, 0-for-1 3FGs), one rebound and a steal in 16 minutes off the bench ... Thomas supplied two points (1-for-2 FGs, 0-for-1 FTs), three rebounds and two blocked shots in 14 minutes as a reserve ... Darren Clarke faced East Carolina once previously, missing his only shot attempt (a three-pointer) in St. Louis’ 70-47 win over the Pirates on Jan. 24, 2004.

Kilgore Has Ties To East Carolina ...

UTEP’s Marvin Kilgore played for East Carolina during the 2004-05 season ... Kilgore appeared in 21 games for the Pirates, starting seven, and averaged 3.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists ... he spent the 2005-06 season at Panola College in Carthage, Texas before transferring to UTEP.

The Last Meeting ...

Jason Williams scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, as UTEP downed East Carolina 58-45 on Jan. 14, 2006 in the Don Haskins Center ... Williams was 8-for-13 from the field and 6-for-8 from the foul line ... East Carolina shot 28 percent in the first half and 33.3 percent on the night ... no Pirate scored in double figures and ECU’s top four scorers -- Corey Rouse, Jeremy Ingram, Sam Hinnant and Courtney Captain -- were a combined 11-for-37 from the field ... UTEP scored the game’s first six points and never trailed ... the Miners led 29-18 at the half and kept a double-digit advantage throughout the second half ... the Miners took their biggest lead of 17 points twice, the last at 47-30 on a jumper by Williams with 7:51 remaining ... Miguel Ayala scored 11 points for UTEP, while Edgar Moreno and John Tofi each had nine points ... Tofi added 11 rebounds ... the Miners shot 47.7 percent from the field and 50 percent (12-for-24) from the line ... UTEP also outrebounded East Carolina 41-28.

Last Game ...

Stefon Jackson scored 22 points, Kevin Henderson 19 and Victor Ramalho a career-high 16 as UTEP ended a three-game losing streak with an 85-56 rout of SMU on Wednesday at the Don Haskins Center ... the Miners climbed over the .500 mark and rose from eighth place in the Conference USA standings to a tie for sixth place ... UTEP scored 80+ points for the ninth time this season, but for the first time in 11 games ... SMU entered the night leading C-USA in scoring defense at 61.2 points per game ... the Miners put up 50 points in the first half, building an 18-point lead at the break ... UTEP shot 53.1 percent in the first half, made 8-of-15 three-point shots and was perfect from the charity stripe (8-for-8) ... the Miners also had 15 assists and only three turnovers in the first half ... UTEP never trailed after Ramalho made two free throws 32 seconds into the game ... a 16-4 run late in the first half extended the Miners’ lead from 32-25 to 48-29 ... SMU shot 37.2 percent from the floor ... UTEP has held its last eight home opponents below 40 percent shooting ... Jon Killen scored a career-high 20 points, making six three-pointers, for the Mustangs ... UTEP outrebounded SMU 39-22 despite being without the services of injured forward Maurice Thomas ... Jackson and Jeremy Sampson each pulled down 10 boards ... the Miners shot 52.6 percent on the night and compiled 23 assists with only 12 turnovers ... UTEP buried nine three-pointers and was 16-for-19 at the line ... it marked the Miners’ eighth consecutive victory over SMU.

More Notes From the SMU Game ...

UTEP’s +24 (30-6) edge in points in the paint was its third-largest of the season and greatest margin in a C-USA game ... the Miners were +30 (40-10) versus UC Riverside and +28 (44-16) against Arkansas-Pine Bluff ... the Mustangs’ six points in the paint were a season-low for a UTEP opponent (previous low 10 by UC Riverside) ... UTEP scored 22 points off turnovers, its highest total in a game since 28 at SMU on Jan. 20 .... the Miners led wire-to-wire in a game for the sixth time this season (Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Toledo, UC Riverside, UAB, Southern Miss are the others) ... two Miners had double-figure rebounds in a game for the second time this season -- Stefon Jackson (10) and Jeremy Sampson (10). This also happened at New Mexico State (Maurice Thomas 11, Victor Ramalho 10) and against Jackson State (Thomas 13, Jackson 10) ... Jackson’s 10 field goals made tied his career-high, and Henderson’s five three-pointers made were a personal best ... Sampson blocked three shots, giving him seven rejections in the last two games.

UTEP in the C-USA Stats ...

UTEP leads Conference USA in assists (15.3 apg) ... the Miners are second in scoring offense (76.2 ppg), tied for second in steals (8.6 spg) and third in rebounding offense (38.9 rpg), turnover margin (+3.07) and offensive rebounds (13.9 rpg) ... Malik Alvin is fifth in assists (4.5 apg) and tied for ninth in steals (1.6 spg) ... Stefon Jackson is third in scoring (18.3 ppg) and 10th in offensive rebounds (2.5 rpg) ... Kevin Henderson is tied for sixth in steals (1.6 spg), seventh in rebounding (6.2 rpg), 10th in defensive rebounds (4.0 rpg) and 10th in three-point field goals made per game (2.0) ... Jeremy Sampson is eighth in blocked shots (1.3 bpg) ... Maurice Thomas is third in field goal percentage (.566) and offensive rebounds (3.0 rpg) ... UTEP is third in scoring (72.2 ppg), assists (13.4 apg), steals (9.1 spg) and turnover margin (+3.31) for C-USA games only ... Alvin is third in C-USA in steals (2.2 spg) for league games only, and Henderson is third in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and three-point field goals made per game (2.5).

Miners Snap Out of Shooting Funk ...

After shooting 24.6 percent in a 66-51 loss to Tulsa on Feb. 17 -- the Miners’ worst field goal percentage in a game over the last 30 years -- UTEP rebounded to hit 52.6 percent of its shots against SMU on Wednesday ... the Miners scored 85 points versus the Mustangs after averaging 60.7 ppg with a .328 (61-for-186) field goal percentage in their previous three contests ... UTEP, which scored 80 points or more eight times in the first 16 games of the season, finally picked up its ninth 80-point outing against SMU ... the Miners shot 50 percent or better for the first time since Jan. 6, when they fired at a .510 clip versus UAB ... UTEP is 10-2 when shooting 45 percent or better this season, but the Miners have reached that bar just three times in the last 11 games.

Another Sophomore Record For Jackson ...

Stefon Jackson picked up his 14th 20-point game of the season on Wednesday, tying Nolan Richardson’s sophomore record set during the 1960-61 season ... Jackson collected 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Mustangs, his fourth double-double of the season ... Jackson has scored 493 points this season, another sophomore record (previous record 443 points by Charlie Brown during the 1956-57 season) ... speaking of class records, Malik Alvin owns Miner freshman records for assists (121) and steals (42), eclipsing the previous marks of 86 assists by Henry Hall in 1989-90 and 32 steals by Roy Smallwood in 1999-00.

Jackson About to Make a Dent on the Scoring Chart as Well ...

Stefon Jackson needs to score only nine points to move into a tie for 15th place on the all-time Miner season scoring list ... Jackson has scored 493 points this season ... Ralph Davis is currently in 15th place with 502 points during the 1993-94 season ... Davis also holds the no. 14 slot with 505 points scored during the 1992-93 campaign ... also within striking distance of Jackson is Al Tolen, who currently mans the no. 13 slot with 507 points scored during the 1959-60 season ... Jackson’s scoring average (18.3 ppg) currently ranks 15th on the all-time UTEP season list.

Tracking the Charts ...

Malik Alvin’s 121 assists are the 14th-top seasonal figure in school annals ... Alvin is chasing Prince Stewart (13th place, 126 assists) ... Kevin Henderson’s 53 three-point field goals rank 12th on the school seasonal list behind Mark McCall’s 56 in 1990-91 ... Stefon Jackson needs to make six more free throws to tie Dick Gibbs (1970-71) for 15th place on the season chart ... with two more blocked shots, Jeremy Sampson will tie Greg Foster (1989-90) and Marlon Maxey (1989-90) for the 14th-top seasonal figure ... Sampson currently has 36 rejections ... UTEP’s 184 three-point field goals are fourth-most in a season in school history, and its 518 turnovers forced mark the fourth-top seasonal total.

UTEP Road Notes ...

The Miners are 1-7 on the road this season and have lost their last four road games ... UTEP is averaging 70.6 points on the road (80.6 at home) ... the Miners are shooting 37.5 percent from the floor, 29.2 percent from outside and 65.1 percent from the line on the road ... only two Miner players are shooting 40 percent or better on the road -- Maurice Thomas (.520) and Jeremy Sampson (.421) ... UTEP has been outrebounded in six of eight road games ... UTEP has trailed at the half in every road game but one (New Mexico State) ... the Miners have had a lesser field goal percentage than their opponent in all eight road contests ... UTEP has had more assists than turnovers just once on the road this season (at Southern Miss) ... in the Miners’ last two road games (Tulane, UAB), opponents have scored 94 points in the paint ... UTEP had no fast break points in its last road game (UAB) for the only time this season.

Guards Carrying the Load ...

Guards have scored 1,513 of the Miners’ 2058 points this season (74 percent) ... UTEP’s three big men -- Jeremy Sampson, Maurice Thomas and Victor Ramalho -- are averaging 17.5 points and 12.6 rebounds collectively ... UTEP has started four guards five times, and three guards 22 times ... a guard has led the Miners in scoring in 25 of 27 games this season ... either Kevin Henderson or Stefon Jackson has led the team in scoring in 11 of the last 12 contests ... in UTEP’s first five C-USA games (4-1 record), Alvin and Kilgore averaged 21.2 points between them with a .435 (37-for-85) field goal percentage ... in the eight games since (2-6 record), they have averaged 13.0 points with a .341 (31-for-91) field goal percentage ... they also committed 21 turnovers in the first five C-USA games (4.2 avg.), and 43 in the last eight (5.4 avg.).

6-3 Guard Leads Miners in Rebounding ...

Kevin Henderson leads UTEP in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and is averaging 7.1 boards in Conference USA games -- third in the league behind Memphis’ Joey Dorsey (10.5 rpg) and SMU’s Ike Ofoegbu (8.0 rpg) ... the 6-3 Henderson is trying to become the first guard to lead UTEP in rebounding since William Smith in 1998-99 (6.3 avg.) ... Henderson has averaged 7.9 rebounds over the last seven games ... he has had seven boards or more in 13 games this season, including a career-high 15 versus UCF on Jan. 27 ... Henderson has scored in double figures in nine of the last 12 games, averaging 14.2 ppg during that span ... he leads the Miners with 53 three-point field goals and has made 97 in his career (10th on the school list) ... Henderson has made a three-pointer in a career-long 15 straight games, the longest running streak on the team ... it is the longest string by a Miner player since Chris Craig hit a triple in 28 consecutive contests during the 2003-04 season.

Jackson a 3x C-USA Player of the Week ...

Stefon Jackson is Conference USA’s only three-time Player of the Week to date ... Jackson was honored by the league on Dec. 4, Jan. 22 and was a co-winner on Feb. 5 ... two-time honorees this season include Rice’s Morris Almond, UAB’s Paul Delaney III and Houston’s Robert McKiver ... Jackson has the third-best scoring average of any UTEP sophomore (18.3 ppg) behind Charlie Brown in 1956-57 (21.1 ppg) and Nolan Richardson in 1960-61 (21.0 ppg) ...he collected 17 rebounds against Houston on Feb. 3, a UTEP record for guards ... Jackson scored a personal best 33 points versus Jackson State on Dec. 22 -- just four shy of the UTEP sophomore record of 37 points, established by Charlie Brown versus West Texas State on Feb. 15, 1957 ... Jackson is one of 19 UTEP players to have a 30-point game ... he has scored 20 points in a half twice this season -- on Nov. 16 against UC Davis (21 points in the second half), and again versus Jackson State (22 points in the first half) ... he has attempted a free throw in 26 of 27 games this season ... he has attempted 10 free throws or more in 10 games this season ... Jackson has scored 20 points or more in four of the last six games.

Rebounding is Key ...

UTEP is 11-3 this season when outrebounding opponents, 3-10 when being tied or outrebounded ... UTEP has outrebounded six of seven league home opponents ... the Miners have been outrebounded in five of six Conference USA road games ... UTEP’s rebound margin is +3.8 at home and -6.2 on the road ... the discrepancy is even more striking in C-USA games ... UTEP has a +2.4 rebound margin in C-USA home games and -7.4 in C-USA away games ... UTEP is averaging 29.1 defensive rebounds in C-USA home games and 18.0 in C-USA road games.

Barbee and First-Year Coaches ...

UTEP is 14-13 in its first season under former Memphis assistant Tony Barbee ... the 14 victories are third-most among first-year Miner coaches ... Doc Sadler posted 27 wins during the 2004-05 season and the legendary Don Haskins tallied 18 victories in his initial season at the helm of the program (1961-62).

Talking Triples ...

UTEP is on pace to make 211 three-point field goals and attempt 628 this season ... the school records are 214 makes and 627 attempts, both set during the 1994-95 season ... UTEP established a school record with 37 three-point attempts at Southern Miss on Jan. 31 ... the Miners have already tied the school record by making 10 or more three-pointers in six games ... seven UTEP players have made 10 or more three-pointers this season (Malik Alvin, Darren Clarke, Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore, Jeremy Sampson, Dale Vanwright) for the first time in school history ... UTEP has made a three-point field goal in 201 straight games.

A Bunch of Steals ...

UTEP has had at least 10 steals in 12 games this season (9-3 record), including seven times in conference play ... the Miners had a season-high 14 takeaways at Tulsa on Jan. 13, and 13 on Wednesday against SMU ... UTEP is averaging 8.6 steals per game ... at its current pace UTEP would finish the season with 268 steals, which would be the second-most in school annals behind the 284 tallied in 1986-87.

Miners Forcing Turnovers ...

UTEP has forced 20 or more turnovers in 15 games this season, including six times in conference play ... UTEP leads C-USA in turnovers forced (518) and turnovers forced per game (19.2) ... the Miners are projected to force 595 turnovers in 2006-07, which would shatter the school standard of 551 forced in 1986-87 ... UTEP has scored more than 30 points off turnovers in three games this season (UC Davis, Toledo, Marshall) ... the Miners are averaging 19.0 points off turnovers per contest.

Thomas is Much-Improved ...

Maurice Thomas is averaging 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds this season after averaging 3.1 ppg and 2.3 rpg a year ago ... he has scored in double figures in 11 games ... Thomas is the only Miner with a field goal percentage of 50 or better (.566) ... he has been the Miners’ top board man in nine games ... Thomas has grabbed nine or more rebounds eight times this season ... Thomas netted a career-high 20 points versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 13, and pulled down a personal best 13 boards against Jackson State on Dec. 22.

Kilgore Nearing 100 Assists ...

Marvin Kilgore is second on the team in assists (88) and fourth in scoring (8.6 ppg) ... Kilgore has scored in double figures in 12 games this season ... he scored in double figures in UTEP’s first three Conference USA games, but has done so just twice in the last 10 league contests ... Kilgore netted a career-high 21 points against Chicago State on Nov. 29.

UTEP Signee a Mr. Basketball Finalist ...

Guard Randy Culpepper, who will be a freshman at UTEP beginning with the 2007-08 season, was named a finalist for Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee earlier this week ... Culpepper, who attends Sheffield High School in Memphis, is one of three Class AA Mr. Basketball finalists by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association ... the 5-11 Culpepper is averaging 28.3 points per game this season ... he has scored more than 2,600 career points.

Miner Nuggets ...

Maurice Thomas missed Wednesday’s game against SMU due to injury, ending a streak of 57 consecutive games played -- the longest streak of any current Miner ... Victor Ramalho was perfect from the foul line (4-for-4) versus SMU for the first time this season. He scored in double figures for the second time in 2006-07 and the first time in 23 games ... the Miners are 9-3 when they have more assists than turnovers, and 5-10 when they don’t ... UTEP has had nine games where at least one starter hasn’t scored this season, and two games where two starters haven’t scored ... Darren Clarke is 2-for-22 (.091) from the field over the last four games ... UTEP only has two players averaging double-figure points -- Stefon Jackson (18.1 ppg) and Kevin Henderson (11.0 ppg) -- for the first time since 1996-97, and only the third time in 21 seasons ... the Miners have missed 99 free throws in their last 10 losses ... UTEP is 11-2 this season when making more free throws than foes and 10-2 when going to the line more times than the opposition ... UTEP’s four Philadelphia natives -- Malik Alvin, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore and Maurice Thomas -- have scored 1,190 of the team’s points this season (58 percent) ... UTEP has won 86 games over the last four seasons ... five Miners have scored over 20 points in a game this season -- Malik Alvin, Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore and Maurice Thomas.