HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- — Corey Camper Jr. had 18 points in UTEP's 79-65 victory against Sam Houston on Tuesday in a Conference USA Tournament opener.

No. 8-seed UTEP, which ended a seven-game losing streak, advances to play top-seed Liberty on Wednesday in a quarterfinal game.

Camper shot 5 of 11 from the field, including 4 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the line for the Miners (18-14). Kevin Kalu added 15 points while shooting 5 of 11 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line while they also had 15 rebounds. Otis Frazier III shot 4 for 8 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points.

The ninth-seeded Bearkats (13-19) were led in scoring by Lamar Wilkerson, who finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four steals. Sam Houston also got 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks from Kalifa Sakho. Marcus Boykin scored 15.

UTEP took the lead with 6:35 left in the first half and did not relinquish it.

------

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