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HONOLULU, Hawaii – Kaseem Watson (12 points),
Jamal West Jr. (12 points),
Elijah Jones (10 points) and
Trey Horton III (season-high 10 points) all reached double figures in scoring, but the UTEP men's basketball team was upended, 66-61, in a physical game in front of 4,000+ fans at Hawaii Saturday evening.
The Miners (3-6) answered the bell early on, using a 15-0 run on the way to leading by as many as 14 (24-10, 5:42, 1H) in the opening frame. The Rainbow Warriors (10-2), winners of six straight, struck back and cut UTEP's lead to four (29-25) at the break. It was back-and-forth in the second half, but the home side managed to come out in front. UTEP was up 49-45 with seven minutes remaining before a 7-0 surge from Hawaii accounted for the game's sixth and final lead change.
UTEP hit three more shots (24-60, 40.0 percent, 8-22 3PT, 36.4 percent) than Hawaii (21-52, 40.4 percent, 6-19, 31.6 percent), committed only nine turnovers and kept the rebounding even (35-35), but it wasn't enough to compensate for a big discrepancy at the charity stripe. The Miners were tagged with 21 fouls compared to eight by the Rainbow Warriors, resulting in Hawaii finishing 18-22 (81.8 percent) at the free-throw line as opposed to UTEP going 5-10 (50.0 percent).
"There's no question that we're becoming a better team and figuring some things out, but we've got to get across the finish line," UTEP head coach
Joe Golding said. "We took care of the ball, battled a really good rebounding team. There were some good things in there. We were right there. Hawaii is a really good team with a good homecourt advantage. We've got to get better from it and get stronger and learn to finish around the rim."
West Jr. and Jones flirted with double-doubles as both finished with a game-high tying seven rebounds.
KJ Thomas buoyed the efforts of the four Miners in double figures for scoring with eight points off the bench while
Caleb Blackwell ran the offense effectively with seven points and three assists.
Harry Rouhliadeff (22 points) and Dre Bullock (15 points) keyed the efforts offensively for Hawaii.
Hawaii jumped took an early 5-0 lead before Jones banged home a 3-pointer to get the Miners on the board. The home side got a bucket on a second chance after a ridiculous block from West Jr, but UTEP kicked things into high gear.
The Orange and Blue turned up the heat at both ends of the court, resulting in a 15-0 run over the next eight minutes.
Kaseem Watson started it with a pair of free throws before a trey from Blackwell afforded the Orange and Blue their first lead of the contest. Thomas then blew past his defender before using a pump fake for the layup.
West Jr. scored on a nifty hook shot to keep the push going before
Kaseem Watson went coast-to-coast for the basket after a turnover by Hawaii. He then faded away on a turnaround jumper. West Jr. flew up the court for a tip-in off a missed shot to cap the surge, with UTEP holding an 18-7 advantage (8:41, 1H).
After Hawaii clawed within eight, six in a row from the Miners afforded them their biggest lead of the half with a 14-point differential (24-10, 5:42, 1H). The Rainbow Warriors had an answer, ripping off seven straight to cut UTEP's lead in half (24-17, 3:21, 1H). The Miners' cushion was eight (29-21) after Horton III rattled home a triple, but Hawaii scored the final four points in the frame to trim UTEP's edge to four (29-25) heading to halftime.
The Miners' lead was erased quickly at the onset of the second half, with Hawaii knocking down a 3-pointer and then getting a layup. Jones countered with his own triple. The two sides traded scores the next couple of minutes, with UTEP trailing by one (35-34) at the media timeout. After Hawaii stretched it to four (38-34), Horton III buried a 3-pointer from the right wing.
After a couple of empty possessions from each squad, Jones answered a score from the Rainbow Warriors with a lefthanded hook shot over the defender to keep the Miners within one (40-39) as the game ticked under 12 minutes to play in regulation. Blackwell buried a pull up jumper out of the break to put UTEP back in front. He then set up Thomas for a trey, who drilled it to wrap up a 7-0 run with the Orange and Blue leading by four (44-40, 10:25, 2H).
Two tosses at the charity stripe for the Rainbow Warriors made it a one-possession game, but Blackwell set up Thomas again from way downtown. The sophomore filled up the 3-pointer, stretching the margin back to five (47-42, 9:40, 2H).
The difference was four (49-45) before seven straight from Hawaii sent the Orange and Blue down by three (52-49, 5:09, 2H). West Jr. halted the surge with a driving layup, but two more makes at the free throw line nudged the differential to three. After a misfire from UTEP, Hawaii went 1-2 at the line to make it a four-point game (55-51). Horton III was fouled on a 3-pointer on the Miners' next trip. He connected on one of them to bring the Orange and Blue within three (55-52, 3:43, 2H).
UTEP could get no closer, though. Hawaii scored on consecutive trips as the Miners went down by seven (59-52, 2:24, 2H). Blackwell buried a long two pointer to trim the deficit to five (59-54), but the damage had been done.
The Miners have a lengthy break before returning home to play host to the 2025 WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational from Dec. 21-22. They open the event by facing 2025 NCAA Tournament participant Norfolk State at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21. UTEP will then compete in the championship contest or the third/fourth-place game against either North Dakota State or UC Irvine on Dec. 22.
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.
