EL PASO, Texas — East Carolina’s shooting cooled off down the stretch at Texas-El Paso on Wednesday night, and it helped prolong the Pirates’ frigid start in Conference USA play.

ECU’s men’s basketball team dropped to 0-4 in league play this season after a 70-56 loss in the Don Haskins Center against a Miners team that enjoyed a remarkable advantage at the free throw line and in the paint. UTEP made 18-of-21 at the charity stripe while the Pirates (9-8) didn’t attempt a free throw until there was 1 minute, 41 seconds left in the game and finished 2-of-3.

“We ran out of steam a little bit coming down the stretch,” East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo said of his squad, which hit just 32.1 percent of its field goals in the second half after connecting on 50 percent before halftime. “We just struggled shooting the ball at a multitude of spots tonight.

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