Game Notes In PDF Format

OPENING TIP
Coming off a dominating 120-71 win against McMurry in its season opener on Nov. 6, the UTEP men's basketball team (1-0) will play host to NAIA program USAO (2-1) at 7 p.m. MT Thursday. It is the second of four straight games at home to begin the season for the Orange and Blue. The Drovers have won consecutive contests, including a 90-84 victory at Evangel (Mo.) last time out on Nov. 6. Tickets start as low as $9.15. For more information, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP. Jon Teicher (43rd year) and Steve Yellen (21st year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required), with Mando Medina and former Miner Hooper Vint describing the action.
 
DUST OFF THE RECORD BOOK
UTEP did plenty of damage to the record books in the 120-71 victory to open the season vs. McMurry on Nov. 6.
-    The 120 points ranked second all time, trailing only 121 vs. NM Highlands (12/30/00).
-    Dished out a school-record 33 assists, smashing the prior standard of 29.
-    Connected on a program-best 50 field goals. The prior mark was 46, which had happened in 1979 (vs. Illinois Tech, 12/22/79) and in 1966 (vs. NM State, 2/1/66).
-    Tallied 59 points to equal the program's fourth-most points in the first half and had 61 points in the second stanza to match the sixth-highest total over the final 20 minutes.
-    Registered 19 steals, tying for the third most at the school.
-    The 49-point margin of victory tied as the 11th highest in program history.

ANOTHER SEASON-OPENING WIN
UTEP improved to 76-27 all time in campaign lid lifters after blasting McMurry, 120-71, on Nov. 6. The Miners have now won 57 of their past 63 season openers, and they stand at 2-1 in the situation under head coach Joe Golding, with the setback at Texas and an 85-57 victory against Western New Mexico in 2021-22.
 
GET TO KNOW USAO
USAO (Science And Arts of Oklahoma) is an NAIA program. It is 2-1 on the year, winning the past two games (W, 92-64, vs. Arkansas Baptist; at Evangel, 90-84) behind its high-powered offense. Anthony Ray tops the team in scoring at 17.0 ppg, with Reggie Quezada (13.7 ppg) and Rory Pantophlet (12.7 ppg) also averaging double digits. USAO has been outstanding at the free-throw line, nailing 82.6 percent (38-46). It is also shooting the ball extremely well during live action, making 51.1 percent (93-182) from the field and 43.9 percent (25-57) from beyond-the-arc. It shares the ball well (20.3 assists per game) and has handled the glass to the tune of a +10.7 differential (43.7-33.0). Pantophlet keys the charge on the boards with 8.7 rebounds per game. The Drovers are under the direction of ninth-year head coach Chris Francis, who is 159-85 in that time frame. He has guided the program to six appearances in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship, and the 2017 and 2021 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championships. Francis was the 2022 SAC Coach of the Year after taking his squad to the 2021-22 SAC regular-season crown. The school opened in 1908 as a college for women before becoming coeducational in 1965. The current enrollment is less than 1,000 (800 students). Notable alumni include Gladys Anderson Emerson (biochemist), who was the first person isolate Vitamin E in a pure  form and Norma Smallwood (Miss America, 1926). She was the first Native American to win the title.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's meeting is the first match-up between USAO and UTEP.
 
INCREDIBLY BALANCED ATTACK
Eight different Miners reached double figures in scoring in UTEP's 120-71 romp past McMurry on Nov. 6. Elijah Jones (19 points) led the way, followed by Tae Hardy (14 points), Corey Camper Jr. (13 points), Jon Dos Anjos (12 points), Otis Frazier III (12 points), Calvin Solomon (12 points), David Terrell Jr. (11 points) and Derick Hamilton (10 points). Buffalo transfer Zid Powell fell just shy with nine points. It's the first time UTEP has had more than seven in a game since 2003 (vs. UAPB, 12/22/03).
 
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Last year, Calvin Solomon joined Randy Culpepper and Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway as the lone Miners in program history to average at least 2.0 steals per game. He was up to his old tricks in the opener vs. McMurry on Nov. 6, tying Otis Frazier III for the team lead with a game-high four steals.
 
WORTH THE WAIT
RS-freshman Elijah Jones joined UTEP as a transfer from ECU midseason last year, and he had to wait until the opener vs. McMurry on Nov. 6 to make his Miner debut. In his first competitive basketball action at the collegiate level, Jones poured in a team-high 19 points (8-8 FG, 3-3 on 3-pointers) to go along with five rebounds and a game-best three blocked shots in only 17 minutes of action.
 
WELCOME BACK, JON
After an injury-riddled first season in the Sun City that limited Jon Dos Anjos to 19 appearances, the Brazil native couldn't wait to hit the courts without any health restrictions for the Miners in 2023-24. He scored a career-best tying 12 points on 5-6 shooting, including a perfect 2-2 from 3-point range. Dos Anjos also pulled down a game-high and career-most equaling eight rebounds in only 16 minutes of action to help UTEP rout Division III member McMurry on Nov. 6.
 
BENCH BUNCH
UTEP's reserves compiled 69 points in the win against McMurry on Nov. 6, nearly matching the total by the entire War Hawk squad. Elijah Jones (19 points), Jon Dos Anjos (12 points) and Derick Hamilton (10 points) keyed the charge.
 
PERFECT SHOOTING NIGHT
Both Elijah Jones (8-8 FGs, 3-3 on 3-pointers) and Derick Hamilton (5-5 FGs) were perfect from the floor against McMurry on Nov. 6.
 
BOMBS AWAY
UTEP was 9-23 from 3-point range for a solid 39.1 readout as a team. Last season, the Miners only had three games total in which they drained at least nine treys. Tae Hardy (3-8), Elijah Jones (3-3), Jon Dos Anjos (2-2) led the way.
 
WINNING THE BOARDS
UTEP held a +11 differential (50-39) for rebounding in the win against McMurry on Nov. 6. Helping the cause was securing 10 offensive boards, with Corey Camper Jr., Jon Dos Anjos and Garrett Levesque all coming up with two.
 
TALKING 100-POINT GAMES
UTEP finished with the second-most points (120) in program history in the win vs. McMurry on Nov. 6. The Miners are now 32-2 all time when surpassing 100 points in a contest, including 30-0 in El Paso (21-0 at the Haskins Center). UTEP has won 17 straight games when hitting the century mark.
 
STAYING HOME EARLY
UTEP is playing four straight (1-0 thus far) to start the season at home, something that hasn't happened since the 2019-20 campaign when they had five consecutive home games out of the gate (5-0 record). That included knocking off rivals NM State and New Mexico within the span of a week.
 
"915 GAME" COMING SOON
UTEP will hold its annual "915 game" when it plays host to UCSB at 7 p.m. MT on Nov. 13. The Miners will be looking for their first sellout since packing the Don Haskins Center to capacity against Western Kentucky on Feb. 6, 2016. UTEP bested the Hilltoppers, 93-89, in overtime in that contest. The Orange and Blue nearly sold out the Bear's Den against I-10 rival NM State last year, with 11,315 fans cheering UTEP to a 67-64 win on Nov. 12, 2022.
 
THE BEST FANS IN CONFERENCE USA
UTEP led Conference USA in attendance last year in both total number of fans (81,941) and average attendance (4,552). It marked the second straight season that the Miners have paced CUSA in at least one of those categories. Last year, UTEP's advantage for per-game average was noticeable, with WKU more than 500 fans behind on average at 4,026.
 
MORE THAN A MILLION FANS
UTEP has attracted more than one million fans to the Don Haskins Center over the past decade. A total of 1,116,176 individuals have passed through the turnstiles from the beginning of the 2012-13 campaign to the end of the 2022-23 season. That figure makes the Miners the only school out of the nine members in Conference USA to have topped one million fans in that timeframe.
 
HOME COOKING
UTEP is in search of its fifth straight season with at least 10 wins at home. The Miners compiled 11 victories at the Haskins Center last year, including going 3-0 at the inaugural Jim Forbes Classic Presented by Speaking Rock to claim the crown. The Orange and Blue are off to a 1-0 start in the Sun City this year.
 
ROSTER RUNDOWN
UTEP returns its leading scorer (Tae Hardy-12.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 spg) and rebounder (Calvin Solomon-6.0 rpg, 9.6 ppg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg) from last year's team. Overall, the Miners bring back 54.3 percent of their scoring and 50.5 percent of their rebounding. It is a stark difference from the situation the Orange and Blue faced going into the 2022-23 campaign, when they had just 20.8 percent of the rebounding and 11.1 percent of the scoring back. UTEP has seven lettermen in the fold, including three starters (Hardy, Solomon and Otis Frazier III; 7.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg). Jon Dos Anjos (4.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg) , Derick Hamilton (2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg), Antwonne Holmes and Kevin Kalu are the other returning lettermen. The Miners landed six newcomers, including junior-college All-American Corey Camper Jr. (19.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg at Tyler JC) and DI transfers Zid Powell (13.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.9 spg at Buffalo) and Baylor Hebb (Colorado State). UTEP also has a pair of true freshmen (Trey Horton III, David Terrell Jr.) and another JUCO transfer (Sebastian Cole). Garrett Levesque (Tarleton State) and Elijah Jones (ECU) are also ready to go after redshirting the 2022-23 campaign.
 
DI EXPERIENCE
UTEP has ample DI experience across its roster, with a combined 454 games played (210 starts) among the Miners as of the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Calvin Solomon leads with way with 114 appearances (88 starts).
 
PRESEASON HONORS
UTEP seniors Tae Hardy and Calvin Solomon were tabbed to the 2023-24 CUSA All-Preseason Team in a vote by the league's nine head coaches. The Miners joined Middle Tennessee and WKU as the only programs in the conference to have a pair of members on the squad.
 
NEW-LOOK LEAGUE
UTEP joined Conference USA as the newest school in the league for the 2005-06 campaign. It enters the 2023-24 season as the most-tenured member. The 11 programs who were part of CUSA when the Miners moved to it have since departed to other conferences. Joining UTEP as returning league members are FIU, LA Tech, Middle Tennessee and WKU while Jax State, Liberty, NM State and Sam Houston are all in their first year.
 
CUSA IS UP FOR GRABS
UTEP was predicted to finish fifth in Conference USA in 2023-24, but it's anyone's guess as to who will take home the regular season crown this season with so much turnover in the league. Five of the top six teams from the standings a year ago have departed for other conferences, including regular season and tournament champion Florida Atlantic. FAU made waves nationally by making a run to the Final Four in the NCAA. The second (North Texas) and third-place (UAB) teams squared off in the NIT finale, and fifth-place Charlotte won the CBI. In fact, only one team (Middle Tennessee) that finished among the top six in the regular season last year is back. Incidentally, the Blue Raiders and newcomer Liberty are picked to win the league, followed by WKU (third), LA Tech (fourth), the Miners (fifth), Sam Houston (sixth), FIU (seventh), NM State (eighth) and Jax State (ninth).
 
A YEAR IN REVIEW
-    UTEP had a new-look squad in 2022-23 with head coach Joe Golding having to overhaul the roster after the Miners returned just one starter and three letterwinners total from a 20-win team a year prior.
-    The Orange and Blue  managed a 14-18 record, including a 67-64 victory against NM State on Nov. 12, 2022, for their first win against the Aggies in three years. That was the start of a five-game winning streak, which was aided by back-to-back OT triumphs.
-    The five straight victories in November were the longest in the month in four years, which was aided by a mark of 3-0 in the inaugural Jim Forbes Classic Presented by Speaking Rock.
-    The Miners came within a point of winning the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational, falling 47-46 to eventual NCAA Tournament participant Kent State on Dec. 22, 2022. UTEP experienced a tough 1-4 stretch early in league play, with those four setbacks by a combined 14 points.
-    UTEP remained resilient on the way to forging seven league triumphs, capped by a 77-65 "Senior Day" triumph against Middle Tennessee on March 4, 2023.
-    The Orange and Blue tied the single-season school record for overtime games at five, matching the 1994-95 and 2011-12 teams. All five of the OT games were in the regular season, which are the most ever at the school. Both the 1994-95 and 2011-12 Miners had in four OT games during the regular season and one postseason OT tilt.
 
THE BASIC FACTS ON UTEP
-    This is the 103rd season of UTEP men's basketball. The Miners made history by starting five African-Americans to defeat Kentucky, 72-65, and win the 1966 NCAA Championship on the way to inspiring the Disney hit movie Glory Road.
-    UTEP has 17 NCAA Tournament appearances (last in 2010), 11 NIT bids (last in 2015), 12 conference championships (last in 2010) and 26 seasons with at least 20+ victories (last in 2015). The Miners have won five league tournaments (last in 2005).
-    The Miners have a strong presence in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with Don Haskins, Nate Archibald, Nolan Richardson, the 1966 team and Tim Hardaway all representing UTEP.
 
GET TO KNOW COACH GOLDING
Joe Golding is in his third year at UTEP, and is the 20th head coach in program history. He is the eighth head coach for the Miners since legendary Hall of Fame Coach Don Haskins retired following the 1998-99 season. Golding is 193-176 in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach, including 35-32 at UTEP. Those 34 wins already place him 10th all time at the school for career victories, and he has a chance to climb into sixth place by year's end. In 2021-22 he became the fourth head coach (20 total) in program history to have a winning season in their first year on the sideline. Don Haskins was the first when he directed the Miners to a mark of 18-6 in 1961-62. Doc Sadler (27-8, 2004-05) and Tim Floyd (25-10, 2010-11) also achieved the feat. Overall, the prior 19 head coaches combined to forge an average record of 9-13 in their first year with UTEP. Previously Golding  spent 10 years at Abilene Christian (158-144), helping it transition from a Division II to a Division I program. Golding led the Wildcats to the 2019 and 2021 NCAA Tournaments, including a stunning upset as a 14-seed of third-seeded Texas in the first round of the 2021 Big Dance.
 
UP NEXT
UTEP will play the third of four straight home games to start the year when it welcomes 2023 NCAA tournament team UCSB for its "915 Game" at 7 p.m. MT on Nov. 13. The Miners aspire to sell out the Haskins Center. The contest will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso and streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Tickets start as low at $9.15 and are available by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or by calling (915) 747-UTEP.