Greg Brown scored 42 points, hit 10 straight shots in one stretch, and New Mexico held off Texas-El Paso 80-78 in overtime Saturday to remain in the Western Athletic Conference title chase.
New Mexico (16-4, 8-2 WAC) needed every bit of Brown's career-best scoring game. The 5-foot-7 point guard hit 14 of 21 shots, connected on 5 3-pointers and answered every UTEP rally.UTEP (13-7, 4-6) got a 31-point effort from Antoine Gillespie, including 24 in the second half. Ralph Davis added 18, including six in overtime. The Miners played without head coach Don Haskins, who flew to California earlier in the week to be with his 41-year-old son Mark, who is hospitalized in the Los Angeles area.
New Mexico, with Brown hitting 14 straight points over a four-minute stretch, took a 26-18 lead late in the first half. A 3-pointer by Marlow White finished off the Lobos' 17-4 run, but the Miners cut the deficit to 31-29 at halftime.
White missed a 3-pointer with one second left in regulation but he put the Lobos in front for good in the overtime with a driving layup with 2:40 left. Seconds later, Brown hit another 3-pointer, the Lobos' 200th of the season.
San Diego St. 82, Air Force 69
In San Diego, Carlus Groves scored 24 points as San Diego State handed Air Force its 12th straight loss.
Air Force (5-13, 0-11 Western Athletic) also dropped its seventh straight road game. The Aztecs (9-9, 4-7) surpassed their overall and conference victory totals of a year ago. They won eight overall and three WAC games in Tony Fuller's first season as coach.