EL PASO, Texas -- Erik McCree had 19 points and eight rebounds Thursday night and Louisiana Tech held on, despite going scoreless over the final 3:45, to beat UTEP 62-61.

Derric Jean's free throw made it 62-54 and the Bulldogs (17-8, 9-3 Conference USA) missed their final five shots from the field while the Miners (8-15, 6-5) scored the final seven points.

Matt Willms' dunk with 1:23 left got UTEP within one, but Omega Harris turned it over at 42 seconds and Dominic Artis missed a 3-point attempt with four seconds left.

Jean added 12 points and DaQuan Bracey had a career-high 11 assists to go with nine points. The Bulldogs trailed by eight early in the second half and took the lead for good during a 21-3 run that ended at 45-35.

Harris led UTEP with 14 points, Willms added 13 and Artis scored 12. Paul Thomas had 11 points and 13 rebounds.