Game Book
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Freshman
Youssouf Traore registered 18 points to pace a quartet of Miners in double figures, but the UTEP men's basketball team was upended, 84-76, by Northern Kentucky, in the season opener for both squads as part of the Field of 68 24-Hour Marathon at the Sanford Pentagon Monday afternoon.
The game was back-and-forth, particularly in the opening stanza, with the Miners (0-1) trailing the Norse (1-0) by four (42-38) at the break. UTEP was within one (46-45) early in the second half before NKU ripped off a 13-4 surge to put the Miners down by double figures (59-49, 12:56, 2H). The Orange and Blue continued to battle from that, making it a one-possession contest on four different occasions, but they couldn't complete the comeback.
Traore flirted with a double-double with 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds to set the tone for the team. Freshman
Donovan Criss came off the bench to score 13 points, making all his shots from the floor (4-4) in addition to sinking three of his tries at the charity stripe. JUCO All-American
Cam McDaniels registered 11 points while Ole Miss transfer
Augusto Cassia added 10 points and four caroms. Cassia also dished out a career-most five assists. His passing efforts matched
Leif Moeller (five dimes), who also had eight points in the affair.
"We have a starting point now," UTEP head coach
Joe Golding said. "It was the first game of the year. There's plenty that we've got to get better at on both sides of the floor. If I'm frustrated with anything, it's the toughness. We've got to get tougher on both sides of the ball. We've got plenty of work to do and have got to get a lot better this week. I thought there were times we fought back in the second half and gave ourselves a chance. We got it within three and had the ball. Credit to Northern Kentucky. They did a great job of spacing us out."
UTEP shot 44.1 percent (15-34) in the opening frame before cooling off in the second half to finish at 38.6 percent (27-70). The Miners knocked down eight triples (8-30, 26.7 percent). NKU drilled 50.0 percent (25-50) from the floor, despite going 4-21 (19.0 percent) from distance. The Norse compensated for that by sinking 30-33 (90.9 percent) at the charity stripe compared to 58.3 percent (14-24) by UTEP. Another factor was rebounding (39-33, NKU), even though UTEP doubled up NKU on offensive boards (14-7).
Willie Foster (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Noah Pagotto (19 points, 12 rebounds) both posted double-doubles to key the charge for the Norse while Eric Acker contributed 16 points and five assists.
The game featured 12 lead changes and two ties. UTEP racked up 16 assists while making just seven turnovers. The Miners had 16 points off turnovers, compared to two by the Norse, in addition to having a big advantage for bench scoring (25-10).
After NKU got on the board with a lay-up, UTEP pulled in front with a triple from Cassia. The Miners were in front by one (5-4) after Traore banked home the layup on the find by Cassia. The Norse regrouped with five straight to regain the advantage before
Reid Cason used a nifty spin move to score down low.
NKU nudged its cushion to six (13-7, 14:35, 1H), and it remained in front by five (21-16) before UTEP's offense started to pick up. The Miners ripped off a 13-6 run over a four-minute stretch on the way to staking a 29-27 lead with 6:40 remaining in the stanza. Nine of the points came via the triple, including two from McDaniels. His second trey capped the run.
It was back-and-forth the next few minutes. A mid-range jumper by Moeller was pure, which nudged the margin to three (33-30, 3:36, 1H). After a mini push sent NKU in front, Criss got his defender on the hip to finish strong at the rim and make it 37-36 UTEP with one minute left in the frame. The Norse ended the half on a 6-1 surge, and the Miners trailed by four (42-38) at the half.
Traore finished through contact with a dunk and sank the ensuing free throw to cut the margin to one (42-41) out of the gates in the second half. It remained a one-point deficit (46-45) after Moeller dashed through the lane for the score, but NKU had a response. The Norse unleashed a 13-4 run to put the Miners down by 10 (59-49).
Isaiah Ward came up with a big offensive rebound and kicked it to his high school teammate Criss, who buried the 3-pointer to halt the surge and bring the Miners within seven (59-52). After a stop, Cassia backed down his defender before the spin and score to force a timeout by NKU with the deficit cut in half (59-54). UTEP then got another stop. Two Moeller free throws made it a one-possession game (59-56) and capped a 7-0 run.
As it turned out, the Orange and Blue got no closer, with the Norse doing just enough to hold off the rally tries by the Miners.
UTEP will look to bounce back when it welcomes UIW to GECU at the Don Haskins Center for its home opener at 5 p.m. MT Sunday. Tickets may be bought by calling (915) 747-UTEP, through the
UTEP Athletics website or by visiting the Eisenberg Family Ticket office at the Brumbelow Building.
The contest will be streamed on MW+ (subscription required), in addition to being carried on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso.
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
