Game Notes In PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The UTEP men's basketball team (2-2) will return home for a midweek matchup against DIII program St. Thomas (Texas) at 7 p.m. MT Wednesday. The Miners will be vying to snap a two-game skid after having fallen most recently at perennial NCAA Tournament Team Utah State, 75-51, on Nov. 15. The Celts (3-1) sustained their first loss of the year last time out, 54-53, against No. 5 Washington University. The contest, which counts for UTEP but is an exhibition for UST, is the final one at home for the Orange and Blue until the 2025 WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational (Dec. 21-22). In fact, nine of the next 11 will be outside of El Paso. UTEP will take part in the Jacksonville Classic, presented by Just Play Solutions, with a pair of neutral-site matchups (vs. William & Mary and Vs. UAB) from Nov. 24-25. The Miners will then have true road games at Seattle (Dec. 7) and Hawaii (Dec. 13). Following the holiday tourney, UTEP's first three league contests will also be in hostile territory. The Orange and Blue will venture to LA Tech (12/29), new CUSA member Missouri State (Jan. 2) and FIU (Jan. 4). Tickets for Wednesday's tilt may be obtained by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or calling (915) 747-UTEP.
Jon Teicher (45th year) and
Steve Yellen (23rd year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners' App. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required), with
Andy Morgan and former Miner assistant coach
Bobby Braswell describing the action.
GET TO KNOW ST. THOMAS (TEXAS) (3-1)
Division III program St. Thomas (Texas) got off to a 3-0 start on the season before being edged, 54-53, last time out at the hands of No. 5 Washington University on Nov. 15. The Celts are under the direction of El Paso native and UST alum, Anthony Medina, who has guided them to a record of 191-85 in his timeframe. He has done a remarkable job while overseeing the transition to DIII. The former standout on the court, who graduated as the program's all-time leader for points, rebounds and 3-pointers, took over in 2015-16 when UST went 10-18. By last year, he had guided the Celts to a 26-3 record, regular-season and conference tournament titles while hosting the NCAA Tournament. The Celts put up 73.8 ppg while allowing only 61.5 ppg, shoot 45.0 percent from the floor and commit only 10.3 turnovers per tilt. They force the opposition into 20.3 tpg. Reigning conference player of the week Corey Thompson paces the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg with Garrett Rodgers (15.0 ppg) and Angel Johnson (10.5 ppg) also in double figures for point average. Thompson has sank 10-20 from distance to account for nearly half (10 of 21) of triples made by the squad. He also is a complete menace on defense with 5.0 steals per game. Nicholas Buffalo has been steady with 7.5 ppg and a team-leading 5.5 rpg. The matchup against the Miners will go down as an exhibition for the Celts. St. Thomas (Texas) is located in Houston, Texas, and it was founded in 1947. Notable alumni include Cecilia Phalen Abbott (First Lady of Texas), wrestling super star The Undertaker and Sean Patrick Flanery (actor).
SERIES HISTORY: FIRST MEETING
Wednesday's matchup is the first meeting between the programs.
GOING BACK IN TIME (AT UTAH STATE 75, UTEP 51, 11/15/25)
UTEP was upended at perennial NCAA Tournament team Utah State, 75-51, on the road on Nov. 15. The Miners forced 17 turnovers and held the Aggies to 16 points below their seasonal scoring average, but a big run late in the first half proved costly. UTEP trailed by just four (21-17) with four minutes left in the frame before USU peeled off 11 in a row. The Miners halted the run, but the damage had been done, as they found themselves down by (34-20) heading to halftime. The Orange and Blue fought over the final 20 minutes, but they were unable to get back into things. UTEP finished at 37.3 percent from the floor (19-51), including 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3-16). Utah State connected on 47.9 percent overall (23-48) despite the Miners holding them to 26.1 percent on triples (6-23).
Elijah Jones paced UTEP with 13 points followed by nine from
Jamal West Jr. and seven each courtesy o
f Caleb Blackwell and
David Tubek.
Cassius Brooks chipped in six points.
Tyreese Watson was hindered by foul trouble, finishing with four points and three steals.
KJ HITTING THE BOARDS
KJ Thomas pulled down a career-best four rebounds at Utah State. Three of the four caroms came at the defensive end of the court. His efforts tied
Cassius Brooks (DI career-best four boards) for the team lead in the department.
DID A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING
Cassius Brooks made the most of his 19 minutes of action at Utah State. He scored six points on 3-6 shooting to go along with DI career bests for both rebounds (four) and assists (three).
FREE-THROW DISCREPANCY
Utah State earned nearly double the trips to the charity stripe than the Miners. The Aggies finished 23-36 (63.9 percent) compared to the Orange and Blue's readout of 10-19 (52.6 percent). The Miners were called for a season-high 27 fouls compared to 18 against USU.
BLOCK PARTY
After rating outside the top-200 nationally for blocked shots per game the past three years, the Miners currently find themselves 87th in the country heading into the tilt against St. Thomas (Texas).
Elijah Jones (1.5-fifth CUSA) and
Jamal West Jr. (1.3-10th CUSA) both rank within the top 10 of Conference USA. UTEP and FIU are the only two teams in the league to have multiple players with top-10 ratings for rejections.
SHARPSHOOTER
Transfer
David Tubek knocked down 50.0 percent (3-6) from the floor, including 1-2 from distance, in a season-high 19 minutes of action at Utah State on Nov. 15.
STEALING THE SHOW
Tyreese Watson has registered multiple steals in all three games played this year, giving him a total of 10. The readout of 3.3 spg paces CUSA and rates 10th in the country.
JONES HAS ELEVATED HIS PLAY
Elijah Jones has stepped things up at both ends of the court this year, pacing the Miners in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and blocks per game (1.5-fifth CUSA). He has topped 50 percent in every game this year, including going 6-9 (66.7 percent) at Utah State. Overall, Jones has filled up 60.0 percent (21-35) form the floor.
STREAKING WITH DOUBLE DIGITS
After scoring in double figures five times total over his first two campaigns in a UTEP uniform (60 games),
Elijah Jones has done so in all four contests of 2025-26. That effort doubles his longest such streak of his career (two, twice). He has been steady, putting up respective point totals of 13, 16, 10 and 13.
OPPONENTS CAN'T HOLD ONTO IT
Utah State committed 17 turnovers, marking the fourth straight opponent to make at least that many giveaways. Overall, the Miners are forcing a Conference USA-leading 10.5 turnovers per game (10th NCAA).
TAKING GOOD CARE OF THINGS
The Miners have done a good job of valuing the basketball in 2025-26, making only 11.0 turnovers per game (fifth CUSA/88th NCAA). Coupled with their ability to turn the opposition over, the Orange and Blue enter Wednesday's matchup with St. Thomas (Texas) with the 10th-best turnover margin (8.5) in the nation.
LOTS OF GUYS SHOOTING IT WELL
UTEP is connecting on 50.0 percent of its shots through three games in the season, which is good enough for fourth in CUSA and 65th nationally. It has been a group effort with six different Miners are making at least 50.0 percent of their shots (min. 10 FGA).
Cassius Brooks leads the way at 70.0 percent (7-10), followed by
Jamal West Jr. at 61.5 percent (16-26),
LA Hayes at 58.3 percent (7-12),
Elijah Jones at 57.7 percent (15-26),
Tyreese Watson at 52.9 percent (9-17) and
KJ Thomas at 52.6 percent (10-19).
STEALING THE SHOW
With
Tyreese Watson setting the tone at 3.3 spg (first CUSA/10th NCAA), the Miners head into the matchup against St. Thomas (Texas) fourth in CUSA and 39th nationally with 10.0 spg. That outcome should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Miners the past few years under head coach
Joe Golding. The Orange and Blue were second nationally for steals per game in 2024-25 (10.2), led the country in 2023-24 (11.4) and were 12th in the NCAA in 2022-23 (9.0).
LOOKING FOR MORE NOVEMBER SUCCESS
UTEP stands 21-11 in the month of November under head coach
Joe Golding. That trend of success is not recent, though, as the Orange and Blue have not endured a losing record in the month since going 2-4 in 2018-19.
QUICK RUNDOWN
- Lost all five starters and 11 letter winners overall from last year.
- Lost 89.0 percent of scoring, 77.7 percent of the rebounding, 90.3 percent of its assists, 90.8 percent of the steals and 74.7 percent of its blocks.
- Returned four players from last year, including two who started the opener (
Elijah Jones &
KJ Thomas), and another (
Jordan Hernandez) who made his UTEP debut.
- Ten newcomers joined the squad, including DI transfers
C.J. Smith (Oklahoma State),
David Tubek (Seton Hall),
Tyreese Watson (ULM), third-team All-MEAC member
Kaseem Watson (Delaware State) and back-to-back All-Southland Conference second-team honoree
Jamal West Jr. (Nicholls State). Second-team NJCAA All-American and the No. 12 JUCO player nationally
Caleb Blackwell (South Plains), first-team all-conference and NJCAA All-Tourney team
LA Hayes (Frank Phillips College) and 2025 NJCAA National Champion
Mouhamed Mbaye (Trinity Valley CC) venture from the JUCO ranks. Three-star recruit
Bobby Montgomery Jr. (Mt. Zion Prep) is a true freshman. DII transfer and second-team All-GAC recipient
Cassius Brooks (Arkansas Tech), who scored more than 900 points in two years, rounds out the list of newcomers.
WINNING WAYS WITH GOLDING
UTEP head coach
Joe Golding has led his squad to three winning seasons in four years, securing 18+ wins in each of them. That hadn't happened since the Miners claimed 18+ games in four straight seasons from 2012-16. UTEP has also posted consecutive campaigns with 18 wins for the first time since that stretch.
HOME COOKING
The Miners are 2-1 thus far at home, and they are looking for 10+ wins in the Sun City for the sixth straight year. UTEP was 11-5 at the Bear's Den last year, including winning the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational for the second straight year.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE
UTEP stands 24-4 at home in nonconference games dating to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, including 2-1 his year. The Miners were 7-0 in the Sun City in the situation last year. It was the first undefeated effort (min. five games) in the area since 2019-20 (8-0).
THE BEST FANS IN CONFERENCE USA
UTEP has led Conference USA in attendance for either total number of fans or average attendance for all four years of head coach
Joe Golding's tenure. In 2024-25 the Orange and Blue topped the league in both categories. UTEP averaged a CUSA-best 5,247 fans and had a league-most 83,954 pass through the turnstiles.
PRESEASON PREMONITIONS
UTEP was predicted to finish eighth in Conference USA for the 2025-26 season, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. Defending regular-season and tournament champion Liberty (143) led the way, followed by Kennesaw State (113), NM State (113), Middle Tennessee (103), LA Tech (82), WKU (79), Jax State (67), the Miners (66), Sam Houston (56), FIU (36) and league newcomers Delaware (35) and Missouri State (30). UTEP did not land anyone on the league's All-CUSA Preseason Team.
A YEAR IN REVIEW
- Compiled a record of 18-15 in 2024-25, marking the third season of at least 18 triumphs in four years under head coach
Joe Golding.
- Outlasted I-10 rival NM State, 66-63, on the road, for its first victory against the Aggies in the Pan-American Center in 14 years.
- Won the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational for the second straight season.
- Surged out to the best record through 20 games (15-5) in 15 years.
- Won at least one contest at the CUSA Championships for the second consecutive campaign. That hadn't happened since an eight-season run (2010-17).
- Nailed 241 triples, the second-most in a single season in program history.
THE BASIC FACTS ON UTEP'S PROGRAM
- This is the 105th 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 fifth year at UTEP, and he 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 230-209 in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach, including 72-65 at UTEP. He has enjoyed three winning seasons in four years, piling up at least 18 triumphs in those campaigns above .500. He stands fifth all-time on the school's list for career victories, and he has a very good chance of taking over third place by year's end.
Tony Barbee (82-52, 2006-10) and
George McCarty (77-58, 1954-59) hold third and fourth, respectively. Golding set the tone for his tenure in his first year (2021-22) on the sidelines in the Sun City. He became the fourth head coach in program history to have a winning season in their first season.
Don Haskins was the first to do so 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 hit the road to take part in the Jacksonville Classic, presented by Just Play Solutions, with a pair of neutral-site matchups (vs. William & Mary and Vs. UAB) from Nov. 24-25.
Join the 915 Campaign
UTEP Athletics has launched the "915 Campaign." Fans can support the Miners by contributing as little as $9.15 per month to UTEP's Talent Acquisition Fund (TAF), which directly impacts the success of UTEP student-athletes. To join the "915 Campaign" and become a difference maker for UTEP Athletics, please click
here.
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