Since the establishment of holiday tournaments that exempt games played in those events from counting toward a team's game limit, the Don Haskins Invitational Tournament lost its ability to be considered prestigous.

In these exempt tournaments, a school can only play in that specific tournament once every four years -- so UTEP would have to limit its participation in the Haskins Invitational in order to restore relevance at a national level.

Ranked teams used to play in the tournament because Don Haskins didn't shy away from competing against the best. UTEP welcomed North Carolina A&T to the first round of this year's two-game battle Monday, and the Miners breezed past the Aggies 72-54 in front of 5,969.

Souley Boum had his best game as a Miner, leading the team with 26 points (7 rebounds) off 3-of-5 from two, 5-of-8 from three, and 5-of-6 from free throw. Bryson Williams was his usual NBA small-forward self, playing his way to a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double off 3-of-5 from two, 3-of-4 from three, and 6-of-6 from free throw. Eight other Miners scored with Daryl Edwards coming closest to double digits (9).

The Miners dominated the clock as they led the Aggies for 37:22, while the NC A&T led for 1:03, and the teams were tied for 1:35. There were four lead changes and two ties through almost the entire first half. All three small leads North Carolina A&T took were immediately responded to by UTEP.

As the first-half clock read 2:47, Souley Boum hit a 3-pointer that put the Miners up by 2 (30-28) -- giving them the lead the rest of the way. UTEP's advantage grew to double digits (43-33) with 15:42 to play and continued on to a game-high lead of 21 (57-36) at 12:16.

The Miners then just needed to maintain a back-and-forth game to run out the clock, and UTEP's advantage went on to fluctuate from a low of 13 points (61-48) to a game-high of 21 for a second time as Kaden Archie hit a jumper with 0:48 on the clock.