February 6, 1999
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Brandon Wolfram scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half as Texas El Paso held off San Diego State 71-65 Saturday night to hand the Aztecs their eighth straight loss.
UTEP (14-8, 6-3 WAC) recorded its second road win in a row after losing seven straight away games over two seasons.
Rico Nelson added 16 points for the Miners, while Sharif Fajardo had 15 points and seven rebounds.
The loss gave San Diego State (2-18, 0-8) its longest losing streak since dropping 21 straight to end to the 1991-92 season.
The Aztecs also extended their poorest start since going 2-23 to open the 1985-86 season.
Vince Okotie recorded career bests of 20 points and 11 rebounds for San Diego State. His previous scoring high of 17 was set three games earlier at Hawaii.
Okotie had 17 points in the second half, including 12 of the Aztecs' first 13 points, as San Diego State rallied back from a 39-28 halftime deficit.
The Aztecs moved within 60-57 with 2:58 to go on a layup by Matt Watts, who finished with 16 points. But Wolfram followed by converting a 3-point play for the Miners.
David Abramowitz hit a 3-pointer to put the Aztecs within three points again 65-62 with 1:19 left, but San Diego State got no closer.