College Basketball Roundup : Texas El Paso Stops Dembo, Wins, 68-62

Tim Hardaway scored 18 points and Chris Sandle added 16 Friday night as Texas El Paso rallied for a 68-62 victory over fifth-ranked Wyoming in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams at El Paso.

Sandle, who guarded Fennis Dembo for much of the night, held the Wyoming star to nine points. Center Eric Leckner led the Cowboys with 22 points.

Wyoming’s loss left top-ranked Kentucky as the only unbeaten team in the top five. The Cowboys dropped to 11-1, while Texas El Paso raised its record to 12-2.

The Miners were successful in denying Dembo the ball in scoring position. Dembo rarely got the ball, and when he did, he usually was in three-point range. He made only 4 of 15 shots.

Wyoming led, 58-54, with 4:31 remaining, but the Cowboys began having trouble passing when the Miners’ man-to-man defense toughened, and the Cowboys managed only one field goal the rest of the game.

New Mexico 80, Air Force 67--The Lobos, not showing any signs of a letdown following their upset of then top-ranked Arizona last Saturday night, extended their winning streak to nine games in the WAC opener at Albuquerque.

Charlie Thomas and Hunter Greene set the tempo for a Lobo offense that shot 66% in the opening half and was never seriously threatened. Thomas scored 19 points and Greene, the leading scorer in the WAC a year ago, added 15.

New Mexico led 48-35 at halftime--the most points Air Force (6-5) has allowed in the first half this season--and the Lobos’ biggest lead was 66-49 with 8:38 left.