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RUSTON, La. – Kaseem Watson (16 points) and Elijah Jones (11 points) each extended their double-digit scoring streaks, but the UTEP men's basketball team was unable to shake off a sluggish start in a 75-63 setback at LA Tech in the Conference USA opener for both squads Monday evening.
 
The Bulldogs (8-4, 1-0 CUSA) came out firing as the Miners (4-8, 0-1 CUSA) dug themselves a 20-point deficit (35-15) over the first 13 minutes of the contest. UTEP regrouped and wrapped a 26-12 run around halftime to claw back within six (47-41,14:41, 2H). LA Tech countered with an 8-0 surge to slow the Miners' momentum and ultimately dash their comeback aspirations as well.
 
Watson's 16 points marked his fourth consecutive double-digit effort and seventh in the past eight tilts. Jones, meanwhile, has now reached double figures in every contest (12 total) of the campaign. It is the longest such streak to begin the year since Randy Culpepper had 14 straight to commence the 2009-10 season. The duo was buoyed by nine points off the pine by LA Hayes and eight from Caleb Blackwell.
 
Jamal West Jr. pulled down a game-high tying eight rebounds to help UTEP win the battle of the boards (41-34) against the Bulldogs, who came into the tilt leading CUSA and rating eighth nationally with a +12.0 margin on the glass.
 
UTEP connected on 36.8 percent (21-57) of its shots and finished at 26.7 percent (8-30) from distance. The Bulldogs knocked down 42.3 percent overall (22-52), helped by an uncharacteristic hot night on 3-pointers. LA Tech, which entered the tilt making only 29 percent from 3-point range, nailed 11-24 (45.8 percent) from beyond-the-arc.
 
The Miners were 13-16 (81.3 percent) from the charity stripe, with every attempt coming after the break. LA Tech went 20-34 (58.8 percent) at the charity stripe. Points in the paint (20-16) and second-chance points (18-5) both were in favor of the Orange and Blue, but LA Tech enjoyed the edge in points off turnovers (18-5).
 
"It's not rocket science. When you want to win on the road, you've got to rebound, take care of the basketball and then you've got to execute. You can't go on the road and score 63 points," UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. "We could never close the gap to get enough pressure on them. The start didn't help us at all. When you dig yourself a hole like that on the road, you're not going to have a lot of success on the road. Credit to our guys for fighting and getting it back to 10 and then to six a couple of times there in the second half. Ultimately, we couldn't get it done."
 
Jones dunked it home after two offensive rebounds, both by Watson, on the first possession of the contest. LA Tech scored the next four points, but Watson's triple sent UTEP back in front. The home side, taking advantage of multiple turnovers by the Miners, punched back. The Bulldogs peeled off 11 straight, including a four-point play, to put the Orange and Blue down by 10 (15-5, 14:02, 1H) and force Golding to call timeout.
 
David Tubek buried a 3-pointer out of the break with the shot clock winding down, halting the surge and making it a one-possession game. LA Tech struck back with seven in a row en route to snagging a 14-point cushion (22-8, 11:10, 1H).  Good ball movement led to a corner trey for Watson, who knocked it down, only to have LA Tech score on its next three possessions as the deficit moved to 17 (30-13, 8:59, 1H).
 
The difference was stretched to 20 (35-15, 7:16 1H) before Blackwell started an eventual 7-0 run with five in a row. He banked home a runner in the lane and then drilled a triple from the wing. Jones put the finishing touches on the sequence by knocking down the baseline jumper, allowing UTEP to creep within 13 (35-22).
 
The Bulldogs nailed a corner triple to stop the surge, but the Miners kept coming. UTEP tallied the final six points of the frame, trimming the margin to 10 (38-28) heading into halftime. Jones started it by tipping in a layup, which was followed by a driving score from Hayes. Trey Horton III capped the sequence by banking home a misfire.
 
It was back-and-forth over the first three minutes of the second half before an 8-2 surge allowed UTEP to whittle the deficit down to six (42-36, 16:09, 2H). LA Tech sank a pair of free throws that stopped it, but Hayes connected on two of his own to once again make it a six-point tilt.
 
The Bulldogs drained a triple on the ensuing possession, but once again Hayes had a response. This time, it was a trey from the left corner as the shot clock wound down. LA Tech responded with eight in a row, including back-to-back 3-pointers, as UTEP suddenly found itself down by 14 (55-41, 13:17, 2H).
 
Two free throws by West Jr. stopped the run, but the damage had been done. UTEP kept playing hard down the stretch, but it was unable to put together another rally.
 
The Miners continue their three-game roadswing to start CUSA play by competing at first-year league member Missouri State at 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT on Friday (1/2), ringing in the New Year in the process. 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 the contest. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
 

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