Game Notes In PDF Format

 OPENING TIP
The UTEP men's basketball team (1-0) will continue its season-opening three-game homestand when it plays host to Western New Mexico at 7 p.m. MT Friday. It marks the second straight matchup against a DII program from the Lone Star Conference, with the Miners having blasted UTPB, 98-56, in the campaign lid lifter on Nov. 3. The Mustangs will be hitting the court for the first occasion of the 2025-26 season, but the tilt will be contested as an exhibition for them. UTEP was able to spread the playing time around in win vs. the Falcons, with only one player (Caleb Blackwell, 25:32) logging more than 25 minutes of action. The other 11 individuals dressed out earned between eight to 21 minutes. Tickets for Friday's match 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. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required), with Andy Morgan and former Miner assistant coach Bobby Braswell describing the action.
 
ANOTHER SEASON OPENER, ANOTHER WIN
UTEP blasted UTPB, 98-56, in the season opener on Nov. 3. The effort improved the Miners to 78-27 all time in campaign lid lifters, aided by staking 59 of the past 65. UTEP is 4-1 in the situation under head coach Joe Golding. It also marked the 18th time in the past 19 years that the Orange and Blue started the year at home.
 
GET TO KNOW WNMU
WNMU has yet to play a game in 2025-26, and the contest against the Miners will be an exhibition for the Mustangs. They are under the direction of third-year head coach Mark Bunker (9-46). Carson Kelly is the top returnee for the Mustangs, who were 5-23 a year ago. He was second on the squad in scoring last year at 13.8 ppg while tying for the team lead in assists (1.9 apg). James McCallum is another name to know, as he contributed 7.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg, with his effort on the glass making him the top returnee in that department. Quincy Adams, who tied for the team lead in blocks last year (0.8 bpg), is also the top returnee for steals (1.3 spg). He was third among Mustangs in 2024-25 last year. WNMU, located in Silver City, N.M., was founded in 1893. The Division II program competes as a member of the Lone Star Conference, which it joined in 2016-17. Notable WNMU alumni include the late American poet Kenneth Wayne Brewer, Tammie Jo Shults, who was a US Navy F/A 18 aviator and Richard Angulo, who played in the NFL with Jacksonville and Chicago.
 
SERIES HISTORY: UTEP LEADS, 29-5
UTEP holds a 29-5 advantage all time against WNMU, including a current 14-game winning streak. Joe Golding's first game on the sidelines with UTEP (W, 85-57), came against the Mustangs on Nov. 9, 2021. Most recently, the Orange and Blue downed them, 90-62, on Dec. 4, 2023. The two sides have quite the history, with the first match-up occurring nearly 100 years ago. The Orange and Blue downed WNMU, 16-14, during the 1928-29 season. WNMU also had a triumph late that year, doing so by a final score of 43-27.
 
GOING BACK IN TIME (UTEP 98, UTPB 56, 11/3/25)
UTEP shot 54.1 percent (33-61) from the floor, forced 20 turnover and used multiple big scoring runs to race past DII member, UTPB, 98-56, in the 2025-26 season opener at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 3. The Miners pounced on the Falcons from the get-go, taking an 8-0 lead barely two minutes into the tilt. They would never trail on the way to the securing the wire-to-wire victory. The Orange and Blue led by 12 (44-32) at the break before running away with things in the second half (54-24).
 
WON BY PLENTY WITHOUT REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
UTEP's 42-point margin of victory (98-56) vs. UTPB was its biggest without surpassing 100 since besting Loyola (New Orleans), by 47 points (96-49, 11/14/15) 10 years ago. That game also served as the season opener.
 
GIVE ME THAT
UTEP sped up UTPB to play at an uncomfortable pace, resulting in 20 turnovers by the visitors. The Falcons had 12 giveaways in the first frame and eight after the break, with the Miners converting them all into a total of 23 points. It marks the third straight year and the fourth occasion of the Joe Golding era that the opposition committed 20+ turnovers in the season opener.
 
VALUING THE BASKETBALL
UTEP had only seven turnovers, including one via a shot-clock violation, vs. UTPB. Guard KJ Thomas, who dished out a team-best and career-high seven assists, did not commit any. It is the fewest giveaways in a season lidlifter since also having seven 13 years ago in a 69-49 drubbing of Oral Roberts (11/9/12).
 
DROPPING DIMES
Sophomore KJ Thomas was credited with a career-high seven assists while making his first start as a Miner in the season-opening 98-56 triumph vs. UTPB on Nov. 3. More impressive was the fact that he did not commit at turnover. He added five points and a pair of steals.
 
DUNKING MACHINE
Junior Elijah Jones showed off his athleticism by beating people down the court and also finishing with authority in the season-opening win vs. UTPB. He had four powerful dunks, which accounted for eight of his 13 points.
 
BULLY BALL
Jamal West Jr. imposed his will close to the basket. He was nearly perfect from the floor (4-5), made all three of his tosses at the charity stripe and finished with a team-high tying eight rebounds.
 
LIVED IN THE PAINT
UTEP pounded UTPB down low, piling up 46 points in the paint. Elijah Jones helped the cause with four dunks.
 
GOT TO THE LINE TOO
When UTEP wasn't finishing at the rim, it was drawing contact and earning trips to the line against UTPB. The Miners were 26-36 in the department. The Miners also got to the line plenty, finishing at 72.2 percent (26-36) in the season-opening triumph.
 
CAN'T BEAT AN AND-1
UTEP hit six triples in the contest vs. UTPB, but it almost matched that total on old-fashioned 3-pointers. The Miners had four And-1s in the game, one each by Mouhamed Mbaye, KJ Thomas, Kaseem Watson and Jamal West Jr.
 
YOU PLAY, YOU SCORE
All 12 Miners who suited up in the 42-point drubbing of UTPB put their name in the scoring column. Kaseem Watson (18 points), Elijah Jones (13 points), LA Hayes (11 points) and Jamal West Jr. (11 points) all reached double figures to lead the way. Caleb Blackwell netted nine while Cassius Brooks added eight. C.J. Smith had six points, Mouhamed Mbaye and KJ Thomas produced five. Jordan Hernandez (four) and Bobby Montgomery (three) rounded out the scoring production.
 
WIRE-TO-WIRE
UTEP scored the first eight points of the game, and it never looked back en route to a wire-to-wire win. The Miners had five such victories in 2024-25.
 
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, with three (Caleb Blackwell, Kaseem Watson and Jamal West Jr.) starting and logging playing time in the lid lifter.
 
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
UTEP blasted UTPB, 98-56, for a season-opening victory at the Don Haskins Center. Plenty of games remain on the docket, but the Miners are in search of a sixth straight season with at least 10 home victories. They were 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 23-3 at home in nonconference games dating to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, including 1-0 in the situation this year. The Miners were 7-0 in the Sun City against out-of-conference opposition in 2024-25, marking the first undefeated effort (min. five games) in the department since 2019-20 (8-0). UTEP did not drop a nonconference contest at the Don in 2020-21, but they it had only three such tilts due to Covid-19.
 
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 229-208 in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach, including 71-63 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 conclude the season-opening three-game homestand when it challenges LMU at 7 p.m. MT Tuesday. The contest will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso and streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). or tickets, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.
 

---

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.       
 
Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club. Visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/utep/quick-donate/NTExNA%3D%3D today!
 
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