Western Kentucky finishes strong to beat UTEP 76-59

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Josh Anderson had 18 points and Charles Bassey recorded his fifth double-double in the last six games as Western Kentucky finished strong to beat UTEP 76-59 on Saturday night.

Bassey had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jared Savage added 14 points for Western Kentucky (13-10, 6-4 Conference USA), which has won five of its last six games.

The Hilltoppers led for most of the first half and took a 34-31 advantage into the break. UTEP stayed close until Lamonte Bearden completed a 3-point play that started Western Kentucky on a 9-0 run to go up 52-41 with 12:22 remaining. The Miners clawed back to close to 54-50 after Nigel Hawkins drained a 3. The Hilltoppers scored the next seven points and finished the game on a 22-9 run.

WKU was just 3 of 13 from beyond the arc but made 19 of 29 free throws. UTEP was 9 of 11 from the line.

UTEP (7-14, 2-8), which is 0-9 on the road, was led by Hawkins with 17 points and Evan Gilyard with 16.