Fresno State Athletics
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UTEP
UTEP Runs Past Fresno State 93-80
2/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2005
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Filiberto Rivera scored 19 points and had 12 assists Thursday night as UTEP defeated Fresno State 93-80 to continue its dominant play at the Don Haskins Center.
Rivera led five Miners in double figures as he hit 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. John Tofi added 18 points. Giovanni St. Amant came off the bench to score 15, and Jason Williams and Omar Thomas each scored 14.
UTEP (19-5, 9-3 Western Athletic Conference) hasn't lost a conference game at home since Jan. 3, 2004, is 13-1 at home this season and 29-2 over the past two seasons.
The Miners scored 30 points off of 18 Fresno State turnovers.
UTEP came out of the gates red hot, shooting 75 percent in the opening 10 minutes to take a 30-16 lead. The Bulldogs chipped away, eventually cutting it to four before the Miners made it 47-38 at the half.
It was the most points a team has scored against Fresno State in an opening half this year.
The Bulldogs were as close as 63-59 with 12 minutes to play, but just four minutes later UTEP had stretched it out to an 11-point advantage.
The Miners continued to pour it on down the stretch, eventually leading by as many as 18 before milking the clock late in the game.
Ja'Vance Coleman led Fresno State (13-8, 7-5) with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Mustafa Al-Sayyad added 19 and nine rebounds.
Chihuahua, Mexico, native Hector Hernandez had a career-high 11 points in front of 150 family and friends. Hernandez's hometown is about three hours away from El Paso.
The 93 points scored was the most in regulation by an opponent against Fresno State since Ray Lopes took over in 2003.
