In a feel-good victory, the UTEP men’s basketball squad dominated Northern New Mexico College (NAIA) 88-53 on Tuesday night at the Haskins Center.

Point guard Jamal Bieniemy led the squad with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while forward Tydus Verhoeven added 12 points and seven rebounds. Forward Alfred Hollins (11) and shooting guard Souley Boum (10) also scored in double figures in the win over the Eagles.

“We wanted to win the glass and we outrebounded them by 18 with 17 offensive rebounds,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “There were some good things we did. We moved the ball pretty well. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, we’re trying to get better.”

The Miners struggled out of the gate, as NNMC cut the UTEP lead to just two points at the 14:18 mark, with a 16-14 edge. Golding fired up his squad during a timeout and it led to a 16-3 run to distance themselves with a 34-20 lead. They went into the half with a 51-26 lead over the Eagles.

UTEP was able to empty its bench with players like Kezza Giffa, Jorell Saterfield, Emmanuel White, Alfred Hollins and Bonke Maring, who all totaled 10 or more minutes of play off the bench. The bench finished with 41 points in total. The Miners ended the contest with a dominant 88-53 victory.

As a team, the Miners shot 49.3% from the floor (33-for-67), 32% from 3-point range (8-of-25) and won the rebounding margin, 41-23. They forced 25 turnovers on defense and racked up 13 steals.

Georgetown transfer Jamari Sibley didn't play on Tuesday because he missed shootaround earlier that day, per the broadcast.

Up next: UTEP (2-1) will face Pacific (1-2) on the road Friday night with a 8 p.m. local tip-off. Fans can listen to the full broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso with MinerTalk after the broadcast.

UTEP basketball beats WNMU 85-57 in Season Opener

Ruben Ramirez | UTEP Athletics 

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