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LYNCHBURG, Va. - The UTEP men's basketball team bolted out to a 12-point halftime lead (35-23) and never looked back on the way to posting its second straight road victory with a resounding 67-51 vanquishing of Liberty in front of an announced sellout crowd of 3,643 Saturday evening.
 
It marks the first time that the Miners (15-15, 6-9 CUSA) have swept a Conference USA road trip since the 2021-22 campaign. That year the Orange and Blue won at LA Tech (63-60, Feb. 17) and at Southern Miss (84-70, Feb. 19) in a span of three days.
 
The Flames (17-12, 6-8 CUSA) didn't make it easy, using a 12-0 run midway through the second half to cut a 20-point advantage (43-23) all the way down to eight (43-35, 13:34 2H) as the crowd came alive, but UTEP didn't flinch. The Miners responded with eight consecutive points, silencing the Flames' faithful in the process. UTEP played with posed down the stretch, with Liberty never getting closer than 10 the rest of the way.
 
Corey Camper Jr. keyed the Orange and Blue by pouring in a career-high 21 points. Zid Powell buoyed him with 19 points, while Tae Hardy (12 points) and Otis Frazier III (11 points) joined them in double figures for scoring. UTEP moved to 10-1 on the campaign when at least four Miners reach double digits for points.
 
The Miners shot a sizzling 52.8 percent (28-53), including 60.0 percent (15-25) after the break. UTEP also drained 40.0 percent (6-15) from distance. At the other end of the court, the Orange and Blue's pressure defense harassed the Flames into 17 turnovers (nearly double their average) that led to 23 Miner points.
 
UTEP also kept Liberty-the top overall and 3-point shooting team in the league- to just 39.1 percent (17-43) from the floor, including a cold 28.0 percent (7-25) from 3-point range. Kevin Kalu (two blocked shots) and Frazier III (three steals) helped in that department, with Kalu finishing with a squad-best +23 in 25 minutes.
 
UTEP nearly led wire-to-wire, trailing for only 28 seconds in the tilt, when it was a one-point edge for Liberty four minutes into the game. Furthermore, it was only the third loss all season at home for the Flames.
 
The Miners won the boards, 29-26, with Frazier III leading the way with seven caroms. Unlike the home side, UTEP took care of the ball with 10 turnovers. It marked the fourth time in the past five contests that the Orange and Blue committed 10 turnovers or less.
 
"I was really proud of our guys, our defensive effort was tremendous tonight," UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. "I have so much respect for Coach McKay with what they do offensively. Their scheme is one of the best in the country. Tonight, we wanted to get after them defensively. We wanted to trap, we wanted to pressure them. We had a quick turnaround. We didn't have a whole lot of prep. I thought our guys were terrific. They had that one run in the second half where we didn't rotate, but beside that, I thought our defensive effort was tremendous. Then offensively, we executed. We took advantage of the match-ups we wanted."
 
The two sides traded scores on their opening possessions before the Miners ripped off five straight to secure an early 7-2 edge. Powell knocked down a pair of free throws, which was followed by a Camper Jr. trey. The Flames ended the push with a conventional 3-point play, which sparked an 8-2 surge for the home side to put the Miners down one (10-9, 16:02, 1H).
 
Camper Jr. rolled off a screen to knock down a jumper to beat the shot clock and halt the sequence. UTEP scored the next four, including a patient, fadeaway floater from Hardy, to cap a mini 6-0 run and afford the Orange and Blue a five-point cushion (15-10, 12:42, 1H). They would never trail again.
 
After a Liberty trey, UTEP turned things up at both ends of the court. The Miners ripped off 15 consecutive points, with the Flames mired in a shooting slump and struggling to deal with UTEP's pressure that forced five turnovers to power the run.
 
Frazier III poured in seven of the 15 in the sequence, with the Orange and Blue suddenly leading by 17 (30-13, 5:34, 1H). He drained a 3-pointer from the wing, knocked down a jumper and then cleaned up a missed shot by banking home a layup. David Terrell Jr. had a floating lay-up and Hardy buried a trey to cap the surge before the Flames finally halted it with a 3-pointer of their own. Hardy crossed over his defender and faded away for a triple as the shot clock wound down on the very next possession, reinstating a 17-point margin (33-16, 4:16, 1H).
 
The home side got going a bit down the stretch, with a 7-2 run to close the half and trim UTEP's advantage to 12 (35-23) heading into halftime. The 23 points marked the fewest yielded by the Miners in the opening frame this season.
 
After UTEP came up with a steal on Liberty's first trip of the second half, Powell stepped back to fill up a 3-pointer and stretch the differential to 15 (38-23). It sparked an 8-0 blitz to begin the second stanza, with Camper Jr.'s 3-pointer pure from the corner after an offensive board. UTEP then forced another turnover, which led to Powell finishing in transition with a lay-up to force a timeout by the home side as UTEP led by 20 (43-23, 16:46, 2H).
 
The Flames struck back in a big way, ripping off 12 straight points in just three minutes to bring the crowd alive and make the margin just eight (43-35, 13:31, 2H) in favor of UTEP. The surge forced Golding to call timeout. The Miners then got a stop and Camper Jr. drove through traffic for a lay-up to reinstate a double-digit edge (45-35). A Liberty 3-pointer rimmed then rimmed out and Camper Jr. delivered a floating score, letting the Orange and Blue lead by 12 (47-35) at the 12-minute media timeout.
 
Hardy hit one of his patented turnaround jumpers to coming out of the break. Camper Jr. then filled up a jumper to wrap up an 8-0 run. Liberty got the next four points before another running floater from Camper Jr. was pure.
 
It was back-and-forth over the next several minutes, with the Orange and Blue extending their lead out to 15 (59-44). Frazier III came up with a steal and breakaway dunk. Powell then lowered his shoulder and drained the jumper over his defender. Liberty answered with a 3-pointer to make it a 12-point contest (59-47) with 3:48 remaining in regulation. Back-to-back baskets out of the break put the finishing touches on an outstanding effort for the Orange and Blue.
 
UTEP returns home to wrap up the regular season with "Senior Night" against FIU at 7 p.m. MT on March 7. Jon Teicher (43rd year) and Steve Yellen (21st year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners App. It will also stream on ESPN+ (subscription required, with Mando Medina (play-by-play) and former Miner (Hooper Vint) describing the action. Tickets start as low as $9.15 but are available for two for $10 to UTEP faculty and staff as part of a special promotion. For more information, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.
 
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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