After having a 17 point lead at the end of the first half UTEP lost in double overtime against the Rice Owls in the opening game of Conference USA “Group Play,” 85-81, Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center.
UTEP is now 8-18, 3-12 in C-USA while Rice improved to 11-17, 6-9 in C-USA.
“It’s the same strategy you come out to start the game, you got to come out and play, you have to sit down and guard, not no magic formula on how you do it,” said first-year head coach Rodney Terry. “You do with your defense, you sit down and you guard, you play hard on that end of the floor and then we come down and on the other end and we execute what we’re trying to do on offense.