Game Book In PDF Format

EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP men's basketball team jumped out to a 27-point halftime lead (46-19) on the way to posting a wire-to-wire 87-50 win against NAIA opponent Northern New Mexico College at the Don Haskins Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Shamar Givance (season-high tying 14 points), Derek Hamilton (career-high 11 points), Mario McKinney Jr. (10 points) and Jon Dos Anjos (season-best 10 points) all hit double figures in scoring for the Miners (6-2), who remained unbeaten at home (6-0) in 2022-23. Carlos Lemus and Tae Hardy each added eight points while Ze'Rik Onyema and Carlos Solomon pitched in seven points.
 
UTEP was locked in from 3-point range, setting season highs for makes (11) and percentage (44.3). The Miners also did a good job at the charity stripe, nailing 22-29 for a campaign-best readout of 75.9 percent.
 
The Miners won the boards (42-31), with Onyema and Solomon sharing the team lead with seven boards apiece. Defensively the Orange and Blue held the Eagles (3-11) to 37.5 percent from the floor while forcing 27 turnovers that led to 30 UTEP points.
 
"No disrespect to Northern New Mexico College, but what happened today should have happened. I think they've got a pretty good team. They've got a Division II win under their belt already" UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. "I was more concerned with how we'd handle (bouncing back) from Wednesday night. We got our butt kicked Wednesday and I was anxious to see how we'd respond. I really liked how our guys responded.
 
"We had one of better practices yesterday that we've had in a long time," Golding said. "We did some really good things back on the defensive end, especially in the first half. That's where I'm pleased with our guys with how they responded from Wednesday night. Even things with a minute to go in the game, Rio (Mario McKinney Jr.) is diving on the floors. It's the culture, our discipline and it's what we are about."
 
The Miners bolted to a 9-0 lead two minutes into the contest, with a trey by Hardy followed by back-to-back triples courtesy of Givance. The Eagles got on the board with a lay-up to stop the run, but Givance countered with the old-fashioned 3-point play to put UTEP up by double digits (12-2, 16:40 1H).
 
UTEP continued to stay hot from 3-point range as the half wore on, with a trey by Lemus followed by Givance's third of the tilt. A lay-up by Solomon off the feed from Hardy prompted a timeout from the Eagles, with the advantage standing at 16 (22-6, 11:56 1H).
 
The lead swelled to 21 (36-15, 3:37 1H) after back-to-back triples from McKinney Jr. It marked the Miners' seventh and eighth 3-pointers of the game, already surpassing their season high (six) in the process. UTEP then closed out the half on a 10-4 push to lead by 27 (46-19) through 20 minutes of action. The 19 points allowed were the fewest by a Miner opponent in a half this season.
 
The two sides traded scores over the first five minutes of the second half, with the Orange and Blue remaining at 27 (58-31). After forcing five turnovers in four minutes, the Miners nudged their advantage to 30+ points for the first time of the contest (66-33, 11:53 2H). The eventual 9-0 run concluded with UTEP securing a 40-point cushion (75-35, 8:54 2H) after a hook shot dropped through from Hamilton.
 
The Orange and Blue put it on cruise control down the stretch, with the Eagles never getting closer than 30 the rest of the way.
 
UTEP is off for a week before hitting the road to play perennial power DePaul at 4:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. CT in its final nonconference road tilt on Dec. 10. The game will be broadcast nationally on FS1. It will also air on 600 ESPN El Paso.
 
Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club.
 
Visit givingto.utep.edu/mac today!
 
Mattress Firm is the Presenting Sponsor of UTEP Men's Basketball.
 
For complete coverage of UTEP men's basketball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPMBB (Twitter), @utepmbb (Instagram) and on Facebook @UTEPMensBasketball  or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at www.UTEPMiners.com