National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Texas-El Paso 83, Auburn 76
When: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 25, 2011
Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Officials: # JB Caldwell, # Darron George, # Winston Stith
Attendance: 6270

Sophomore John Bohannon equaled his career high with 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds as UTEP defeated Auburn 83-76 in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic on Sunday in Honolulu.

Michael Perez added 18 points, including hitting three of his four 3-pointers down the stretch, as the Miners (6-6) earned their fifth victory in the last seven games.

UTEP used a box-and-one defense against Auburn’s leading scorer Frankie Sullivan, holding him to five shots and seven points before he fouled out. The Tigers’ second-leading scorer Rob Chubb was 0-for-6 from the field and did not score.

Trailing 50-45 with 12:06 remaining, UTEP responded with nine straight points and never looked back. Jacques Streeter added 12 points and five assists for the Miners.

Kenny Gabriel matched his career high with 24 points, Varez Ward had 18 and Josh Langford 16 for Auburn (8-3).

UTEP led by as many as eight in the opening 20 minutes and settled for a 37-31 advantage at halftime. Bohannon led the Miners with eight points and eight rebounds.

Langford scored 11 points and Ward added 10 in the first half to keep Auburn in it, despite Sullivan and Chubb being held without a point on just four shots from the field.
Top Game Performances
 
Texas-El Paso   Auburn
John Bohannon 20 Scoring Kenny Gabriel 24
Jacques Streeter 5 Assists Varez Ward 6
John Bohannon 9 Rebounds Kenny Gabriel 8
John Bohannon 8 Free Throws Made Varez Ward 10
John Bohannon 2 Steals Rob Chubb 2
Julian Washburn 2 Blocks Adrian Forbes 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Texas-El Paso 83 53.1 9-13 22-29 16 22 3 4 11
Auburn 76 45.5 7-21 19-24 14 26 4 5 15