CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Mississippi State coach Ben Howland knew what was coming. Yet, it still left him shaking his head.Can you believe he ran a triangle and two on November 20? smiled Howland at his longtime friend and one-time LA rival, UTEP coach Tim Floyd.Howland, UCLAs coach from 2003-2013, squared off against Floyds USC teams from 2006 through 2009 with the Bruins winning seven of the 10 matchups. This time, Howland left a winner, too, as Aric Holman scored 18 points and Lamar Peters had 13 points, including a critical four-point play that snapped the Bulldogs from a shooting funk, in a 61-54 victory over the Miners. Mississippi State left with two straight wins and fifth place at the Charleston Classic.Im just excited about our team never quits, never gives up, Howland said.The Bulldogs (3-1) trailed 15-4 early and 43-35 in the second half as they started 1 of 10 from the field. Thats when Peters struck for a 3-pointer and got fouled, which seemingly woke up Mississippi State.Coach always tells me to look for my opportunities, Peters said. I just wanted to do whatever it took to help the team.The 6-foot-10 Holman did, too. His last basket was a thunderous jam with 5:22 to go that broke a 49-all tie. Mississippi State did not trail again.At the end of the day, the main thing was just to keep my team going, Holman said. Get defensive stops because our defense leads to our offense.Dominic Artis scored 15 points and Matt Willms had 12 points and 11 rebounds for UTEP. But the Miners lost their shooting touch in the second half, going just 7 of 26 from the field and missing their final four shots to lose two of their three tournament games.Floyd, critical of his club after their 10-3-81 loss to Wake Forest here Thursday, left much more pleased about what the Miners could become. The defense, he said, improved over the weeks three games and Artis and Willms took control of the attack.That was a real, real positive for us, Floyd said.Howland said he and Floyd were friendly during his time in Westwood when fans of the rivalry wanted only hate for the Trojans.He and Floyd hadnt faced each other since USCs 65-55 win over UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament in 2009. Howland doesnt enjoy facing coaches he considers friends. I hope we dont have to do it again, he said. I really do.Floyd enjoyed seeing Howland this weekend, too.Great respect for him, Floyd said. Mississippi States got the right guy.BIG PICTUREUTEP: The Miners have a dynamic guard in Dominic Artis and a solid post player in 7-foot-1 Matt Willms. But if those two struggle, UTEP is often left forcing shots. Starter Jake Flaggert, a three-point specialist, was just 1 of 7 from behind the arc while Paul Thomas, also a starter, struggled from the field at 3 of 8 and was hurt by foul trouble. The Miners will have to discover a reliable third option quickly.Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Quinndary Weatherspoon. But when Weatherspoon is off his game, as he was against UTEP, Mississippi State is stuck for reliable shooters. Aric Holman was dominant inside before fouling out with 86 seconds left. Take away Holmans 8 of 10 shooting and the Bulldogs were 13 of 42 from the field.INJURED QBen Howland said leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon would have an MRI on his left wrist, injured Friday in Southern Mississippis win over Boise State. We dont know how bad it might be, Howland said. Thats what concerns me.UP NEXTUTEP returns home for a two-game stretch, starting against Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday night.Mississippi State begins a five-game run at home when it faces Lehigh on Friday night---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org Dave Taylor Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Alec Martinez Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.cheaplosangeleskingsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-christian-folin-jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Luc Robitaille Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Adidas Drew Doughty Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. SEPANG, Malaysia -- Lewis Hamilton says two solid practice sessions at the Malaysian Grand Prix have put him in a good position to bounce back from his recent dip in form.Hamilton struggled throughout the Singapore Grand Prix weekend after losing practice time on the Friday ahead of the race and has been beaten by teammate Nico Rosberg at the last three rounds. However, with a solid Friday behind him he says he will have no excuse for failing to beat Rosberg this weekend.It definitely feels better than Singapore, he said. I mean today we had no problems, we got lots of running in. Theres not really any excuses right now!Weve got a lot of data today, a lot of understanding of the different tyres that weve run; soft, medium and hard, so fingers crossed were in a good position.Theres a good feeling, were putting the building blocks in, we got all the running that we needed today so hopefully that will pay off tomorrow and in the race.ddddddddddddAlthough Daniel Ricciardo finished within 0.5s of race winner Rosberg at the Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton said his engineers had not mentioned a threat from Red Bull during his Friday night briefing in Malaysia.When Im driving Im just driving and focusing on my job, so thats the first Ive heard of it, he said when asked about Red Bulls promising long-run pace. From what the guys said in my room, I dont think they were stronger than us but we shall see.Hamilton is expecting less degradation on the recently-laid track surface at the Sepang International Circuit, but is not sure whether that will offer a benefit to Mercedes. ' ' '