Marquette downs UTEP basketball 76-69

(Photo: Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)UTEP had its moments Tuesday night; just not quite enough of them.

Marquette started each half strong, then held off all Miner charges to defeat UTEP 76-69 in front of 13,064 fans in the Fisern Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc.

The Miners trailed 37-30 at the half and started the second half with a couple of free throws and trailed by just five points, 37-32.

Then came the real deal breaker.

Marquette went on a 12-0 run, built a 17-point lead at 49-32 with just under 14 minutes to play. And that left the Miners playing uphill for the remainder of the evening.

The Miners did play well at times and did not fold when facing that daunting deficit. UTEP…