UTEP tops Liberty 66-57 in Conference USA semifinal

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- — Zid Powell had 13 points in UTEP's 66-57 victory against Liberty on Thursday night in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament.

The Miners, the tourney's fifth seed, advance to face top-seeded Sam Houston in the title game Friday.

Powell also added seven rebounds for the Miners (17-15). David Terrell Jr. scored 12 points while going 4 of 5 and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Tae Hardy had 11 points and shot 4 of 11 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line.

Kaden Metheny led the way for the Flames (18-14) with 20 points. Joseph Venzant added 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for Liberty. Kyle Rode also had 10 points and five assists.

A 10-0 run in the first half gave UTEP a seven-point lead. The teams entered the break with UTEP ahead 31-30, while Derick Hamilton led their club in scoring with 10 points. UTEP pulled off the victory after a 19-2 second-half run erased a 12-point deficit and gave them the lead at 61-56 with 34 seconds remaining in the half. Powell scored nine second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.