The coach was upset about a charging call against Esmir Rizvic. Shortly after replacing his shoe, he strode the length of table during a timeout and apparently told a Big 12 and NCAA official seated there to keep an eye on the officiating.
Less than a minute later, he got a technical for arguing with officials about a call on Charlie Burgess on Randy Culpepper's breakaway attempt.
While Stefon Jackson and Culpepper made free throws, Knight continued to stand and talk to the referee as his son, head coach designate Pat Knight, tried to encourage his father to return to the bench.
Earlier this season, Knight received a public reprimand from the Big 12 for criticizing officials in an 80-63 loss at New Mexico on Dec. 15.
Martin Zeno scored 25 points for the Red Raiders, and Alan Voskuil got hot late in the game.
He scored 11 of 13 Tech points within a four-minute span to put Tech up for good. He finished with 13 points and John Roberson added 16.
Marvin Kilgore scored 22 points and Culpepper and Tavaris Wattes added 10 points each to lead the Miners (9-4).
Jackson, UTEP's leading scorer coming into the game with a 24.8 points-per-game average, fouled out with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game. Tech (9-5) held him to just nine points.
The Miners used a 10-2 run to start the second half to go up 47-40. They didn't do it on their own, though. Tech (9-5) played sloppily in the first four minutes, allowing UTEP to steal the ball three times, while Tech traveled twice and missed on two other possessions.
But the Red Raiders settled down and pulled within 52-50 on a jumper by John Roberson as the shot clock expired with about 11 minutes remaining.
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