Game Notes In PDF Format

OPENING TIP
The UTEP men's basketball team (3-2) heads to the "Sunshine State" to take on William & Mary (4-2) in its opening-round game of the Jacksonville Classic, presented by Just Play Solutions, at 2 p.m. MT/4 p.m. ET Monday. The Miners halted a two-tilt slide last time out with a wild 84-83 overtime victory against Division III powerhouse St. Thomas (Texas) on Nov. 19. The Tribe pushed its winning streak to two after most recently throttling first-year DIII member Regent University, 104-57, on its "Education Day" contest on Nov. 21. Monday's matchup will be the first on a neutral site for both programs this year. The Miners did fall in their lone contest on the road, 75-51, at perennial NCAA Tournament team Utah State on Nov. 21. William & Mary is 2-2 away from home this season, including an impressive 82-74 vanquishing of MAC power Bowling Green on Nov. 19. The Miners will play twice in as many days at the event, locking up with former Conference USA rival UAB at 2 p.m. MT/4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.  The games open up a brutal stretch with four straight and seven of the next nine outside of the Sun City. UTEP will have a nice break following the MTE before true road games at Seattle (Dec. 7) and Hawaii (Dec. 13). The Orange and Blue then have another gap off before returning home to play host to the 2025 WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational (Dec. 21-22). Following the holiday tourney, UTEP's first three league contests will also be in hostile territory. UTEP will venture to LA Tech (12/29), new CUSA member Missouri State (Jan. 2) and FIU (Jan. 4). Jon Teicher (45th year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners' App for both contests in Florida. They will also be streamed on Pass Tha Ball Live.
 
 
GET TO KNOW WILLIAM & MARY (4-2)
William & Mary, picked fourth in the CAA preseason poll, is off to a solid 4-2 start on the year while under the direction of second-year head coach Brian Earl. The Tribe has won back-to-back games, with a noteworthy 82-74 road vanquishing at MAC power Bowling Green (11/19) before smashing first-year DIII program Regent University, 104-57, at home last time out (11/21). It returned seven letterwinners, but only starter, from the 2024-25 squad (17-15, 11-7 CAA). William & Mary boasts scoring up and down the roster, with seven players producing between 8.0 and 12.0 ppg. Kyle Pulliam (11.7 ppg) and Reese Millers (11.5 ppg) set the tone in double figures followed by Kilian Brockhoff (9.2 ppg), Ryan Jackson Jr. (8.7 ppg), Chase Lowe (8.3 ppg), Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (8.3 ppg) and Cade Haskins (8.2 ppg). Kaleb Spencer is the top rebounder (6.3 rpg), aided by pulling down 3.0 offensive boards per game. He would be top-100 nationally for orpg, but his three games played do not let him qualify. The Tribe does plenty well across the board, leading the CAA and rating among the top-100 nationally as a team for assists per game (19.8-23rd), bench scoring (41.5-13th NCAA), field-goal percentage (48.0-98th), defensive rebounds per game (30.2-27th), steals per game (9.3-56th) and turnovers forced per game (16.0-59th). William & Mary is also among the league leaders and top-100 in the country for blocks per game (4.5-second/85th), fastbreak scoring (19.0-third/35th), field-goal percentage defense-39.2-second/69th), free-throw attempts per game (25.8-fourth/69th), free throws made per game (18.7-third/72nd), rebounds per game (41.0-fourth/74th), scoring offense (87.2-second/78th) and 3-pointers made per game (9.5-third/78th). Among the few things it struggles with is fouling (19.5 fpg-11th/257th), offensive rebounding (10.8-12th/239th), scoring defense (75.8-ninth/232nd), 3-point defense (32.-4-sixth/220th) and turnovers per game (14.8-11th/303rd). Officially known as the College of William & Mary, the school predates the founding of the United States by 83 years. Launched in 1693, it is the second-oldest university in the country and the ninth-oldest English-speaking college in the world. Notable attendees/alumni include four of the country's first 10 presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler), Glenn Close (actor), Jon Stewart (comedian), Bill Lawrence (creator of Scrubs and Ted Lasso), Mike Tomlin (Steelers head coach) and Sean McDermott (Bills head coach).
 
SERIES HISTORY: UTEP LEADS, 2-0
UTEP leads the all-time series with William & Mary, 2-0, with matchups in consecutive campaigns in the mid 1960s. Both came at holiday tournaments around Christmas. The Miners dispatched the Tribe, 61-51, to win the Arkansas State Tournament (Jonesboro, Ark.) on Dec. 21, 1963. The Orange and Blue then held off William & Mary, 56-51, in their opening-round victory of the Sun Carnival Classic Tournament (El Paso, Texas) on Dec. 29, 1964.
 
GOING BACK IN TIME (AT UTEP 84, ST. THOMAS (TEXAS), 11/19/25)
Jamal West Jr. tipped in a shot with 1.1 seconds left to lift UTEP past upset-minded powerhouse DIII member St. Thomas (Texas), 84-83, in overtime at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 15. The Miners dug themselves an 11-point (41-30) deficit at the half. UTEP fought back to eventually lead by as many as five (61-56, 7:13, 2H). The Celts, who went 26-3 last year and hosted the DIII NCAA Tournament, rallied back to go up by three (72-69) with 8.2 seconds to play in regulation before Elijah Jones drilled a corner 3-pointer as time expired to force overtime. The visitors vaulted to a five-point cushion (81-76) two minutes into the extra session, but UTEP kept its composure and closed the contest on an 8-2 surge to pull out the victory.
 
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
Jamal West Jr. poured in a season-high 20 points, including a tip-in with 1.1 seconds remaining in OT, to send the Miners to the 84-83 OT win vs. St. Thomas (Texas). It was UTEP's third shot attempt of the possession, with a misfire on a contested layup by Caleb Blackwell and an unsuccessful tip-in by Kaseem Watson before West Jr's heroics. UST, which played the game as an exhibition, called timeout to set up a play but was unable to get a shot off before time expired.
 
MADE IT WHEN IT MATTERED MOST
Elijah Jones was 1-4 on 3-pointers in the win against St. Thomas (Texas), but his one make was monumental. He sank a corner triple on a pass from Trey Horton III as time expired to tie the tilt at 72 and send it to OT.
CLUTCH FREE THROWS FROM CALEB
With UTEP trailing by four (71-67) with only 11 seconds left in regulation, Caleb Blackwell, who had a season-best 11 points, stepped up and drilled a pair of free throws to keep the Miners in striking distance. Coupled with a missed free throw from UST on the ensuing possession, those makes set the stage for Elijah Jones's buzzer-beating triple to send the game to OT. Overall, Blackwell has nailed 11-12 for a team-best readout of 91.7 percent at the charity stripe. He finished with a career-most five made free throws (5-5 in game).
 
ALL FIVE STARTERS IN DOUBLE DIGITS
All five Miner starters reached double figures in scoring against St. Thomas (Texas), something that hadn't happened in seven years (at New Mexico, 11/24/18). Jamal West Jr. led the way with a season-best 20 points, followed by 15 each from Kaseem Watson and Elijah Jones, and 11 apiece courtesy of Caleb Blackwell (campaign most) and Tyreese Watson.
 
OT SKID STOPPED
UTEP's 84-83 OT victory against St. Thomas (Texas) halted a five-game skid in the situation for the Miners that had dated to a 79-73 double-OT loss at UAB (12/29/22) nearly three years ago.
 
BIG EFFORT ON THE BOARDS AGAIN FOR KJ
After pulling down a career-best four rebounds at Utah State (11/15), KJ Thomas matched that total with four boards in the OT victory against St. Thomas (Texas).
 
DROPPING THE DIMES TOO
KJ Thomas had eyes in the back of his head against St. Thomas (Texas), dishing out five helpers (second most of his career). He has recorded at three assists on a trio of occasions this year after doing so once last year (three, vs. Yale, 12/21/24). He enters the matchup with William & Mary producing 3.4 apg (second team/19th CUSA). Thomas has also taken good care of the ball with a team-leading +2.13 assist-to-turnover ratio (13th CUSA).
 
BOUNCE BACK FOR KASEEM
After being held to two points at Utah State (11/15), Kaseem Watson was a stout 6-8 from the floor (2-2 on 3-pointers) and 1-3 at the line for 15 points in a season-best 31 minutes vs. St. Thomas (Texas).
 
DT CLEANED UP THE GLASS
David Tubek skied for a career-best seven rebounds, including two on the offensive end in only 15 minutes of action vs. St. Thomas (Texas).
 
KASEEM HAS DONE THAT ALL YEAR
Kaseem Watson tops UTEP at 5.2 rpg, aided by three games of at least five caroms. After four offensive rebounds through four games, he nearly matched that total (three) last time out against St. Thomas (Texas). Overall, he has a team-most 19 defensive caroms.
 
ELIJAH DOES TOO
Elijah Jones has snagged 4.4 rpg. He has the second-most offensive boards (nine) on the team to go along with 13 defensive caroms.
 
CASH MONEY
Cassius Brooks has made his presence felt off the bench this year. He is pitching in 6.0 ppg off the pine on a stout 63.2 percent shooting (12-19), doing so in only 17.0 mpg, aided by a pair of eight-point efforts. He is 3-5 on 3-point tosses and 9-14 inside the arc, in addition to knocking down 3-4 at the charity stripe.
 
STUFFING THE STAT SHEET
Tyreese Watson has done it all for the Miners thus far in 2025-26. He paces the team in assists (4.0 apg-seventh CUSA) and steals per game (3.0-first CUSA/11th NCAA) and is second for assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.78-16th CUSA). Watson also is one of three players to produce double figures for scoring (10.3 ppg-third on squad), aided by reaching double figures in three of his four contests this season. He missed the opener with an injury.
 
JONES HAS ELEVATED HIS PLAY
Elijah Jones has stepped things up at both ends of the court this year, pacing the Miners in blocked shots (1.4-sixth CUSA), rating second in scoring (13.4 ppg) and third in rebounding (4.4 rpg).
 
STREAKING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Elijah Jones has posted double-digit scoring efforts all five games this year, matching his total such combined efforts (five) in a UTEP uniform over his first two years (60 contests). His prior career-long streak was two (twice). He has been steadfast, recording respective point totals of 13, 16, 10, 13 and 15.
 
JAMAL JUST DOESN'T MISS
Jamal West Jr. is connecting on a ridiculous 67.6 (27-40) of his shots on the year which is second in CUSA and 23rd in the country. He has also been solid at the charity stripe, connecting on 71.4 percent (15-21), pacing the Miners in both makes and attempts. It all adds up to him leading the Orange and Blue for scoring at 14.0 ppg. West Jr. also has a team-high four And-1s.
 
HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE SHOOTING IT WELL
Four Miners are connecting on at least 50.0 from the floor (min. 10 FGA). Jamal West Jr. leads the with way with a stunning 67.5 percent (27-40, first CUSA/23rd NCAA), followed by Cassius Brooks at 63.2 percent (12-19), LA Hayes at 58.3 percent (7-12) and Elijah Jones at 53.3 percent (26-47). Overall, UTEP has drained 46.7 percent as a team, including 52.5 percent (115-219) on two-point tosses. Brooks has topped 50.0 percent in every contest while Jones and West Jr. have passed that metric in four contests.
 
OPPONENTS CAN'T HOLD ONTO IT
The Orange and Blue have done a sensational job turning over the opposition once again in 2025-26, forcing a Conference USA-leading 18.8 opponent giveaways per game (eighth NCAA).
 
THAT'S A MARGIN WE LIKE
Thanks in large part to forcing 18.0 turnovers per game (first CUSA/eighth NCAA), the Miners enter the matchup with William & Mary with one of the best turnover margins nationwide. UTEP boasts a +6.4 turnover margin, which places it third in CUSA and 21st nationally.
 
NOTHING WRONG WITH STEALING THIS WAY
With both Tyreese Watson (3.0 spg-first CUSA/11th NCAA) setting the tone and KJ Thomas (1.8 spg-eighth CUSA) also doing his part, the Miners go into the game against William & Mary third in CUSA and 30th nationally with 10.4 steals per game. UTEP has been among the very best in the nation for the category the past few years under 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).
 
THE BEST DEFENDERS ARE CONSISTENT THREATS
KJ Thomas (1.8 spg-tied 10th CUSA) and Caleb Blackwell are the only Miners to record at least one steal in every contest (all five) while team leader Tyreese Watson (3.0 spg-first CUSA/11th NCAA) has produced multiple thefts in all four games he's appeared in.
 
LOOKING FOR MORE NOVEMBER SUCCESS
UTEP stands 22-11 in the month of November under head coach Joe Golding, including 3-2 this year 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 3-1 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 25-4 at home in nonconference games dating to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, including 3-1 this 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 231-209 in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach, including 73-65 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 on the sidelines in the Sun City in 2021-22. He became the fourth head coach in program history to have a winning season in their initial 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.
 

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UP NEXT
UTEP play its second time in as many days in the Jacksonville Classic, presented by Just Play Solutions, by challenging former Conference USA rival UAB at 2 p.m. MT/4 p.m. ET Tuesday.
 
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.