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EL PASO, Texas (Ticker) -- Rocky Perez passed for 237 yards and his four-yard scamper with 8:58 left in the third quarter put Texas-El Paso in front for good en route to a 41-31 victory over New Mexico State. New Mexico State (0-4) took a 24-21 lead with 36 seconds to play in the first half on a six-yard touchdown toss from Keith Kenton to P.J. Winston that capped a four-play, 86-yard drive. But Perez threw consecutive completions on the Miners' next drive and UTEP (3-2) benefited from a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty with eight seconds remaining. On the final play before halftime, Ricky Bishop kicked a 48-yard field goal to tie it at 24-24. On the Miners' second drive of the second half, Rovann Cleveland rushed for 27 yards and Chris Porter's 17-yard run put Perez in position to scamper in from four yards for a 31-24 advantage midway through the third quarter. Bishop added a 27-yard field goal in the final period and Porter gave UTEP its biggest lead with a 23-yard run with 2:04 remaining. Damien Ocampo hooked up with Manuel Talbert on a 22-yard TD with 22 seconds left that narrowed the deficit to 41-31, but the Aggies' could not recover the onside kick and the Miners ran out the clock. Chris Barners and Phil Branstetter combined to rush for 251 yards on 25 carries for New Mexico State, which nearly tripled its scoring from the first three games -- all losses. The Aggies were outscored, 84-13, including shutout defeats at South Carolina and Georgia. Perez completed 16-of-28 passes, including seven to Lee Mays for 150 yards and a touchdown. The Miners were outgained, 508 yards to 465, but improved to 46-32-2 in the all-time series.
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