One game after Florida Atlantic men’s basketball completed a comeback where it trailed by 20 points at halftime, the team found itself in a similar hole as the UTEP Miners carried a 40-20 lead into the half.

However, the Owls (4-15, 2-4 Conference USA) were unable to make a second comeback in a week as they fell 71-56.

FAU missed its first six shots in the game, helping UTEP (11-8, 3-3 Conference USA) open up on a 15-0 run, 5 minutes and 7 seconds into the game. Head coach Michael Curry then subbed in senior forward Javier Lacunza and freshman forward Jesse Hill.

The duo made three of their first four shots, with the rest of the team missing 14 shots before making a field goal. This lead to first half shooting coming in at only 26 percent, including only 2-of-14 on two-point shots.

The Owls were able to cut the Miners’ lead down to nine as they opened up the second half on a 19-6 run, ignited by 13 points from freshman forward Jeantal Cylla. The team went on to only register two points over the next 7 and a half minutes though as UTEP extended its lead to 67-39.

Cylla was the lone bright spot for the Owls as he made 5-of-6 from behind the three-point arc, finishing with a career-high 25 points. No other Owl scored more than eight points.

The Miners’ scoring was led by sophomore guard Omega Harris and senior center Hooper Vint — each contributed 19 points.

Florida Atlantic will stay in Texas as the team visits the University of Texas at San Antonio on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. The Owls have a record of 1-13 away from Boca Raton.

Brendan Feeney is the sports editor of the University Press. To contact him on this or other stories, he can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.