By BRET H. MCCORMICK

Associate Sports Editor

The Bulldogs wasted a major opportunity Saturday night, yet they still finished up 2-1 on the toughest road trip of the season.

Donell Allick missed a last-second 3-point attempt to tie the game, and Texas-El Paso (15-4, 6-3 in Western Athletic Conference) defeated the Bulldogs 71-68.

The Bulldogs (10-9, 4-5), who were looking to pull into a tie for fourth place with the Miners with a win, made a valiant effort in front of 12,000 Miner fans in the sold-out Haskins Center.

In an attempt to slow down the Miners' high-powered offense, Tech head coach Keith Richard implemented a 1-3-1 defense to prevent penetration and make the the Miners shoot outside.

The strategy paid off, as the Miners struggled with their shooting and finished under 40 percent from the field in the contest.

However, UTEP's poor shooting was made up for by the fact the Miners were seemingly able to get to the free throw line at will.

"That was the story of the game," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "I said before the game we couldn't put them on the line 30 times. They drive hard and draw fouls, and tonight they did. I'm not blaming the officials, but 33-10 free throws is hard to overcome."

The Miners made 8-of-11 from the charity stripe in the first half, as they hung close to the Bulldogs and trailed just 30-29 at the half despite only shooting 33 percent from the field and hitting just 1-of-10 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, were unable to get easy points by making free throws. UTES did not put Tech on the line until after halftime.

The Miners entered the contest with a reputation of getting to the line, having shot over 500 free throws on the season. In comparison, the Bulldogs had shot less than 200.

Yet, despite knowing UTES wanted to make its points by shooting free throws, Tech could not slow down the Miners' transition attack.

"They are a hard team to guard anyway, and we knew that," Richard said. "We made it an emphasis to try and get our guys not to foul them when they took it to the basket, but we did anyway."

As close as the Bulldogs kept the game and as hard as they battled, everything appeared to be slipping away late. UTES opened a 66-54 lead, but the Bulldogs refused to quit.

Allick closed a 12-2 run and pulled Tech within two at 68-66 when he knocked down a jumper with 53 seconds remaining in the game.

After a made free throw by John Tofi, Corey Dean slammed home a dunk with 14 seconds left to bring to score to 69-68 in favor of UTES.

Then the Miners' junior point guard Filiberto Rivera calmly knocked down two free throws, setting up Allick's near buzzer beater for the second consecutive game.

"That became kind of a tough man contest," Richard said. "And give UTES credit." The Miners did what they were supposed to do -- defend their homecourt.

Five Miners finished the game in double figures, led by Giovanni St. Amant's 14 and Omar Thomas's 13 points.

JueMichael Young led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Allick added 14. Dean finished with 13, and the nation's leading rebounder and Tech's leading scorer, freshman Paul Millsap, was held to just 10 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes.

Two nights before, the Bulldogs pulled off a second consecutive road win when Allick hit a 16-foot baseline fallaway jumper with 5.5 seconds remaining to give Tech a 68-66 win over Boise State (11-7, 3-5).

Tech inbounded the ball with 35 seconds remaining and a chance for the final shot. Allick dribbled the clock down to nine seconds before seeing an opening on the baseline.

"It's amazing how close games are won," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "A kid making a play. We ran the time down, and he had just enough room to make the fallaway jumper."

As if hitting the potential game-winning shot were not enough, Allick stole the ensuing inbounds pass to secure the win for the Bulldogs.

Allick finished with 15 points with the final two being the biggest.

"Donell made two plays in the final two seconds," Richard said. "This was his biggest game, and I'm happy for him."

Both of Tech's starting post players, Millsap and junior forward Wayne Powell, finished with double doubles.

For Millsap, it was his 12th double double of the season, as he finished with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Powell added 11 points and 11 boards.

Tech returns to action Thursday night as it begins the biggest homestand of the season, hosting conference co-leaders Nevada and Fresno State.

Tip-off against the Wolf Pack is Thursday night at 7 p.m., while Fresno comes to town Saturday night at the same time.