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EL PASO, Texas – In a back-and-forth game featuring 11 ties and 14 lead changes, the UTEP men's basketball team made plays when it mattered most in a 67-65 vanquishing of Norfolk State in the opening round of the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Wednesday night.
 
The Miners (7-5) advance to the championship game, where they will square off against old WAC rival Wyoming at 7 p.m. MT Thursday. For tickets, fans may call (915) 747-UTEP. The Spartans (8-6), who have registered consecutive 20-win seasons, will challenge South Dakota State in the consolation contest at 5 p.m. MT Thursday.
 
Calvin Solomon led the Orange and Blue in both scoring (13) and rebounding (nine), including coming up with a critical offensive board with five seconds left off a missed Miners' free throw with UTEP up just one. Solomon dropped it off to Tae Hardy, who was fouled immediately. He showed ice water in his veins by making two tosses at the charity stripe, capping his night with 12 points (four shy of 1,000 career points).
 
Norfolk State inbounded, and UTEP wisely fouled with 2.3 seconds left to prevent a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Jamarii Thomas (13 points) hit the first free throw before missing the second intentionally, but Otis Frazier III secured the loose ball and time expired.
 
Zid Powell (10 points) and Frazier III (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring for the Orange and Blue, while Corey Camper Jr. netted seven points in his second straight start. UTEP connected on 41.9 percent from the floor, but it was its job at the line (27-37, 73.0 percent), the ability to get out and run (20-8 advantage on fastbreak points) and tight defense down the stretch that factored heavily in the win.
 
The Miners forced 16 turnovers by the Spartans, five more than their seasonal average, and held them to 44.2 percent (19-43) from the floor. That was aided by keeping NSU without a field goal the final five minutes.
 
The victory snaps a mini two-game slide for the Orange and Blue while improving them to 6-1 inside the Haskins Center.
 
"We had to get off a skid and we said it was not going to be easy. Tonight was a perfect example of that," UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. "There were just so many things that happened where our guys could have given up. To see them finish a game, I'm just so proud of them.
 
"Norfolk State is a really, really good team. That team is going to play in the NCAA Tournament," Golding said. "They've already beaten VCU at VCU and Illinois State in front of a packed house. I'm proud of our guys for showing some toughness down the stretch and figuring out how to win."
 
UTEP's defense set the tone early, forcing four turnovers in the first four minutes, which helped it secure a 6-0 lead heading to the first media timeout. Four of those points came on the fastbreak, with the Miners getting out for a pair of easy buckets.
 
The Orange and Blue harassed the Spartans into another giveaway out of the break, leading to a lay-up for David Terrell Jr. to make it 8-0. NSU got on the board with a free throw with 14:16 left in first frame. On the ensuing possession, Jon Dos Anjos drained a triple to afford the home side a 10-point cushion (11-1, 13:56, 1H).
 
The Spartans countered with a 13-4 push to creep within one (15-14, 9:28, 1H) before a pair of Powell free throws halted the stretch. NSU continued to challenge, eventually taking its first lead of the game at 18-17.  The visitors nudged the differential to four (23-19), taking advantage of the Orange and Blue going without a made field goal for nine minutes. Camper Jr. ended that drought in style, slamming home a putback. Solomon followed with two free throws, tying the tilt at 23 (4:13, 1H).
 
It remained tied (26-26, 1:44, 1H) before the next four points went to NSU. UTEP then forced consecutive turnovers, resulting in two Baylor Hebb free throws and a late dunk from Solomon to tie the tilt heading into halftime.
 
Norfolk State managed to snag a 38-35 edge four minutes into the second stanza before the Orange and Blue ripped off seven straight points. Hebb started it with two free throws off a technical foul on NSU, which was followed by a high-arching shot to beat the shot clock by Hardy. Frazier III then put the bow on top with the old-fashioned 3-point play on a fast break, with UTEP up four (42-38, 14:41, 2H).
 
NSU clawed back to tie things up at 42, but the Miners eventually stretched the lead out to five (52-47, 8:57, 2H) after Terrell Jr. finished a lay-up in transition. The Spartans responded with a 7-1 surge en route to jumping back ahead by one (54-53, 6:18, 2H). Frazier III's driving lay-up stopped the run, as UTEP went by up (55-54).
 
It was back-and-forth over the next couple of minutes, with the Orange and Blue up by two (63-61) with two minutes to play. NSU crept within one after a free throw and got the ball back after a UTEP turnover. A foul on a drive sent the Spartans to the line where Thomas, an 86.0 percent free-throw shooter, missed both. He came with the offensive rebound but couldn't connect on the lay-up, and this time, the Orange and Blue got the box out.
 
The Miners went to the other end where Solomon was fouled. He calmly sank both tries, putting his squad up three (65-62) with 31.2 seconds remaining in regulation. Powell was tagged for a foul with 16 seconds to play, and NSU connected on two from the line to make it a one-point contest (65-64).
 
Camper Jr. had two free throws that wouldn't go down, but Solomon cleaned up the miss to set the stage for the clutch tosses at the line by Hardy. UTEP then fouled NSU, instead of letting it possibly tie the game with 3-pointer. Thomas, who finished 6-10 at the line, drained the first one to bring the visitors within two. He then purposedly fired the ball off the rim, but Frazier III got on the deck to secure the game-clinching board as the buzzer sounded.
 
UTEP will have the quick turnaround, taking on Wyoming at 7 p.m. MT Thursday.
 

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