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GAME NOTES: The Texas El-Paso Miners seek their sixth straight victory, as they welcome the Houston Cougars to the Don Haskins Center for a Conference USA showdown this evening.

The Miners haven't lost since dropping a 75-65 decision at Houston back on January 13th. Since then, the team has reeled off five straight wins, including Saturday's 74-65 double overtime win against nationally-ranked UAB. It marked the first win for UTEP over a top-25 program since 2001 and pushed the Miners to 6-1 in C-USA action, tied for the top spot with UAB and Tulsa.

The Cougars have had their ups and downs this year and the result is an 11-9 overall mark and 4-3 ledger within the conference. The team is coming off one of its most impressive wins of the year, ending a two-game slide with an 81-66 whipping of a good Marshall squad on Saturday.

UTEP holds a 9-7 edge in the all-time series with Houston, but the Cougars have closed the gap with wins in two straight and three of the last four and are looking for the regular season sweep.

The win over Marshall this past weekend was impressive, considering the Cougars trailed by five at the half and went on to win by 15. Senior guard Aubrey Coleman was simply unstoppable in the game, racking up 37 points and 13 rebounds, going 11-of-23 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the free-throw line. It marked Coleman's sixth 30-point game of the season, so it is no surprise that he leads the nation in scoring at 26.2 ppg. Much more than just a prolific scorer, Coleman also is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, while pacing the Cougars with 64 steals. Coleman is clearly the offensive leader on the team, but Kelvin Lewis certainly can't be overlooked. The 6-4 senior is averaging 16.1 ppg and is shooting a solid .418 from behind the arc (69- of-165).

The Miners possess enough offensive firepower to remain competitive in any game. The team is shooting a respectable .475 from the floor this year, leading to a hefty 77.7 ppg. The defensive effort has also been consistent, with UTEP yielding just 64.9 ppg on a mere .389 shooting. Scoring depth is apparent with five players currently averaging double figures. Randy Culpepper leads the way with 17.1 ppg. Derrick Caracter is next at 13.7 ppg and is the team's top rebounder (8.6 rpg). Christian Polk (11.6 ppg), Arnett Moultrie (11.5 ppg) and Jeremy Williams (10.9 ppg) provide plenty of support. The Miners were able to outlast the Blazers last time out and more importantly earn a share of the lead in the conference race. Caracter had a huge game, finishing with 20 points and 13 rebounds. As a result, he was named the C-USA Player of the Week. Williams just missed his own double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Culpepper and Polk checked in with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Coleman will once again get his points in this one, but UTEP's overall depth and homecourt advantage should give the Mines a split in their season series with Houston.