Owls close on 3-game win streak

EL PASO — Aston Walter ran for a touchdown and a career-best 149 yards, and Rice beat UTEP 3016 on Saturday in the season finale for both teams.

Rice (3-9, 3-5 Conference USA) has won its last three games. UTEP (1-11, 0-8), which beat the Owls 34-26 last season, was shut out in the second half for its 11th consecutive loss.

UTEP led 16-14 at halftime after a last-play field goal by Gavin Baechle, but Rice gained 156 yards and scored 10 points on its first two drives of the third quarter, while UTEP gained minus-3 yards on its first two drives.

Miners quarterback Kai Locksley completed 8 of 12 passes for 100 yards and added 63 yards rushing, but he left late in the second quarter and did not return due to injury. He was replaced by Gavin Hardison.

“The first two possessions of the second half were not positive possessions for us,” UTEP coach Dana Dimel said. “Garvin Hardison had a little trouble getting settled in and they took the lead. Then we started to get a little momentum back with a drive at the end of the third quarter, but we got inside the 30 and didn’t finish the drive.

“In the fourth quarter, we couldn’t get a good grasp on anything with what we were doing offensively. I felt like Gavin was trying to get himself comfortable stepping in there off the bench, trying to get his way. You could see there was a little inexperience there showing up in the ballgame.”

Walter had 16 carries that included a 30-yard TD in the first quarter and a career-matching 64-yard run late in the game. It was his fifth 100-yard rushing game this season, the most for the Owls since Charles Ross had seven in 2013. Walter also surpassed 1,000 career yards rushing.

Tom Stewart tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Austin Trammell in the first quarter for Rice. JoVoni Johnson added a pair of TD runs in the second half.

Stewart fumbled a snap in his own end zone, and defensive end Praise Amaewhule jumped on the ball for a Miners’ touchdown in the first quarter. Locksley threw a 12-yard TD pass to Justin Garrett in the second quarter.

“Guys just need to have better execution on certain plays, getting the right signals,” said UTEP receiver Jacob Cowing, who had 56 receiving yards and just missed a long TD when a Hardison bomb was a few inches past his fingertips late in the third quarter.