Game Book

EL PASO, Texas – Kaseem Watson (23 points, seven rebounds), Elijah Jones (20 points, four boards), Jamal West Jr. (16 points, eight rebounds), KJ Thomas (11 points, career-best five rebounds, four assists) and LA Hayes (10 points, career-high 10 rebounds) all had big nights to help the UTEP men's basketball team rally past CUSA co-league leader Middle Tennessee for an exhilarating 83-80 overtime victory in front of a season-high 4,368 fans at the Don Haskins Center Thursday night.
 
The Miners (5-10, 1-3 CUSA) faced double-digit deficits on five separate occasions throughout the contest, including trailing the Blue Raiders (9-6, 3-1 CUSA) by 10 (55-45) with 15 minutes remaining in regulation, but they refused to quit. UTEP was still down by nine (66-57) with 6:40 to play before it unleashed a 12-2 surge, capped by one of Watson's career-high tying five triples to give the home side its first lead (69-68, 3:40, 2H) of the game.
 
It was back-and-forth down the stretch. Hayes's potential game-winning trey at the buzzer rimmed out, sending the contest to OT for the third time in the past four matchups between the programs with things even at 73. MT got a free throw to take the lead in the extra session. UTEP marched back in front with a dunk by Jones on a nearly full-court pass from Thomas, and the Orange and Blue would never relinquish that cushion.
 
The Miners answered every point by the visitors with makes at the charity stripe (8-10 in OT). MT had a potential go-ahead triple with 27 seconds left (UTEP up 78-76), but it didn't drop. Hayes snagged the board. He split the pair, setting up a pattern down the stretch of UTEP fouling to prevent a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Watson was instrumental as well late, nailing 4-4 at the line in the final five seconds. MTSU's half-court heave for the equalizer was well off the mark, as UTEP completed the comeback for its second straight home win.
 
"Tonight, I'm really happy for those 10 guys. Incredible fight, incredible courage, incredible toughness. That's a really good team we played tonight. They came in here 3-0 (in the league). They are incredibly talented and very well coached," UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. "The resiliency of this group tonight, I'm really proud of them. I thought our crowd was absolutely tremendous. That's what makes this (UTEP) job so special. These fans, they're passionate, they care, they love UTEP. They pushed our guys in the second half and in OT. We don't win that game without that crowd."
 
The Orange and Blue connected on 43.1 percent (25-58) from the floor, aided by nailing 8-19 (42.1 percent) on 3-pointers. UTEP also drilled 25-36 (69.4 percent) at the free-throw line, including the aforementioned strong 8-10 (80.0 percent) in OT. The Miners outworked MTSU on the boards (38-32), helped by a 13-7 advantage in offensive rebounding.
 
All of that helped them overcome the Blue Raiders shooting 47.5 percent (28-59) from the floor. Another factor was holding MT to 29 second-half points to erase the seven-point deficit (44-37) the break to force OT.
 
It marked the second straight 20+ point outburst for Watson while Jones produced his 14th double-digit scoring effort in 15 games this year. West Jr. gave MTSU fits all night down low while also dishing out a season-best three assists. Hayes had a huge night off the bench with his first career double-double (10 points, career-best 10 boards), aided by personal highs in both free throws made (eight) and attempted (11). Thomas's 11 points equaled his second-best scoring output this year.
 
Watson (43), West Jr. (43), Thomas (career-most 41), Jones (career-high 36 minutes) and Hayes (career-best 30 minutes) piled up big minutes to help UTEP overcome having four players sidelined with injuries.
 
Both teams scored on their opening possession, with West Jr. bolting to the hoop for a layup to counter a jumper from the visitors. MT answered with five straight, putting the Orange and Blue down 7-2 (17:19, 1H) before a powerful one-handed dunk by West Jr. After a score by MTSU, Thomas beat the shot clock with a trey to make it a two-point tilt (9-7, 15:49, 1H) at the first media break.
 
MT continued to stay hot offensively, and with the Miners in a bit of a shooting fun, it was able to nudge the differential to 11 (19-8, 11:49, 1H). A Watson 3-pointer from the top of the key, on the inside-out feed by West Jr, slowed the surge. After a stop, West again set up Watson for a triple to cut the margin to five (19-14, 10:40, 1H). MT got an old-fashioned 3-point play to stem UTEP's momentum, eventually going out by double figures again (30-17, 8:22, 1H) by virtue of a couple of triples.
 
Thomas's And-1 made it a 10-point tilt (30-20). The run hit 7-0 after a stop and a transition 3-pointer courtesy of Jones and a free throw from West Jr. MT connected on 3-pointers on its next three trips, forcing UTEP to stare a 12-point deficit (39-27, 5:21, 1H) in the face.
 
It didn't fold, ripping of 10 in a row to inch within two (39-37, 1:45, 1H) and coerce a timeout by Middle Tennessee. Two free throws by Cassius Brooks started things before Jones snuck behind the defense for a breakaway transition slam. Two more tosses at the stripe, these ones from Hayes, followed. West Jr. put the icing on the cake by tipping home his own miss on the third try. The Blue Raiders scored the final five points of the half to put the Miners down seven heading into halftime.
 
MT accounted for seven of the first nine points of the second half, extending its cushion to 12 (51-39). UTEP struck back immediately with six straight, sneaking within six (51-46, 16:02, 2H). There were a pair of baskets by Jones, including a turnaround jumper, in addition to a hard-fought score in the post by West Jr.
 
Back-to-back buckets from the visitors moved the margin back to 10 (55-45, 14:55, 2H). UTEP answered with a 7-0 push with respective triples from Watson and Jones sandwiching a West Jr. free throw to trim the difference to three (55-52, 11:47, 2H).
 
A little push by the Blue Raiders, aided by an And-1, stretched their lead back to nine (66-57, 6:40, 2H). The Miners ripped off the next nine points in the game, including a driving layup by Thomas and an And-1 from West Jr., to suddenly tie the tilt at 66.
 
MT got an offensive putback and score to retake the lead on the next trip. It was short lived, with Watson filling up the corner triple to afford the Orange and Blue their initial advantage (69-68) of the game as the run reached 12-2.
 
MT halted things with a straightaway 3-pointer, ascending in front by a pair (71-69, 2:20, 2H). West Jr. put his defender on skates with a variety of pump fakes on the next trip to tie the tilt at 71. UTEP got a stop, and then Jones bested the shot clock with a floater in the lane. The Blue Raiders scored on their next trip tying things up. UTEP called timeout with the shot-clock off and the contest knotted at 73. Hayes's potential game winner rimmed out, sending things to OT.
 
The Blue Raiders struck first in the extra period with a free throw, but UTEP got back in front with a full-court pass from Thomas to Jones for the slam. After a stop, Jones sank two free throws to push the Orange and Blue's edge to three (77-74, 2:00, OT). The Miners created another shot-clock violation. At the other end, West Jr. got to the line after some nifty work. He split the pair, extending the margin to four (78-74, 1:06, OT).
 
MT got a quick basket on the next trip before a turnover by the Orange and Blue gave MT the ball down by two (78-76) with 24.7 seconds remaining. They called timeout to set up a 3-pointer, which didn't go down. Hayes skied for the board, his 10th. He split the pair, and the Miners fouled to send the visitors to the line before they could try for a triple. MT hit both to trim the UTEP lead to one (79-78).
 
Following a timeout, UTEP got it into Watson. He was fouled immediately, and calmly made both free throws, letting the home side hold a three-point edge (81-78) with 4.5 seconds left. The Orange and Blue once again fouled in the backcourt to prevent a possible tying triple. MT made both attempts with 3.6 seconds left, but the Orange and Blue got the ball into Watson cleanly. He was fouled, nailed both, and MT's half-court shot was well off the mark at the buzzer.
 
UTEP shoots for its second straight win while wrapping up the mini two-game homestand against WKU at 2 p.m. MT on Saturday. The special '915' promotion remains in place, with all seats only $9.15. Fans can purchase the $9.15 tickets by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or calling (915) 747-UTEP. These seats ordinarily sell for up to $50. Jon Teicher (45th 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).
 

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