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60TH ANNIVERSARY WESTSTAR DON HASKINS SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL December 22, 2021

EL PASO, Texas – The 60th Annual WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Championship game features the UTEP Miners taking on the Bradley Braves at 7 p.m. (MT) in the Don Haskins Center, today, December 22. The Consolation game has North Carolina Central taking on Sam Houston at 5 p.m. (MT) with both games being featured on YouTube on the Sun Bowl Association Channel.

Bradley took down Sam Houston in impressive fashion 86-71 in game one of the tournament and a short-handed UTEP team fought through adversity and defeated NCCU on Tuesday, Dec. 21 by a score of 70-61.

The Miners will try for their 33rd WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational title when they take on Bradley tonight. UTEP is now 89-28 overall in the Sun Bowl Invitational that started back in 1961.

GAME ONE RECAP (AP)
Braves guard Terry Roberts had 23 points as Bradley easily defeated Sam Houston State 87-61 in the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Tuesday.

Forward Malevy Leons and guard Ville Tahvanainen added 15 points apiece for Bradley (6-6).

“[Winning a championship] would mean a lot to our newcomers, haven’t won a trophy yet at this level,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. “Anytime you have an opportunity to win back-to-back games, it helps us get ready for March Madness. We started the year out of sync … but we’re starting to find our rhythm now.”

Bradley totaled 48 second-half points, a season high for the team.

Savion Flagg had 16 points for the Bearkats (4-8). Tristan Ikpe added 10 points.

Bradley never trailed after falling behind 3-2 just over a minute into the contest. The Braves moved the ball well and found open shots all game long, leading to 14 assists on 28 made field goals.

GAME TWO RECAP
Although the Miners were short-handed with players out due to various reasons, they picked-up the victory over North Carolina Central, 70-61, on day one of the West Star Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.

UTEP Miner Keonte Kennedy tallied a career-high 27 points along with a career-best three three-pointers. Miners guard Christian Agnew also had a season-high in points with 16 points.

UTEP posted a 44.7 shooting percentage on the evening along with a nice 43-percent from beyond the arc. Another great positive on the night for the Miners was their season-low seven turnovers.

UTEP vs NCCU basketball box score 12 21 21

Bradley vs Sam Houston basketball box score 12 21 21

Participants
UTEP, Bradley, North Carolina Central, Sam Houston

Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021
5 p.m. (MT) – Consolation Game – Sam Houston vs. North Carolina Central
7 p.m. (MT) – Championship Game – Bradley vs. UTEP
In the Don Haskins Center

Link to Sun Bowl Association YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/SunBowlAssociation/featured