Game Book
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Kaseem Watson tallied a game-high 24 points (one shy of season high) while
Elijah Jones added 19 points, but the UTEP men's basketball team sustained a 77-67 setback at Middle Tennessee Thursday evening.
The Miners (10-18, 6-11 CUSA) trailed by eight (34-26) at the break only to have the Blue Raiders (14-14, 8-9) get going at both ends to put the Orange and Blue down by 24 (55-31) with 13 minutes remaining in regulation. UTEP dug in and behind a barrage of 3-pointers, cut the margin all the way down to eight (71-63, 3:47, 2H) before MTSU regrouped to hold on.
Watson (19 points) and Jones (11 points) did the bulk of their scoring in the second half to power the rally attempt.
Caleb Blackwell added six points and a pair of steals while
Jamal West Jr. was limited to four points due to foul trouble that eventually saw him finish the game from the pine as result.
KJ Thomas recorded four assists and chipped in two points before fouling out as well.
Trey Horton III (six points),
LA Hayes (four points) and
Cassius Brooks (two points) helped UTEP stay even with MTSU in bench scoring (12-12).
"We struggled offensively to start, and for the first time in a while it affected our defense. It was a 34-26 game at half, and we were still right there, but you've got to come out and win the first four (minutes) to keep it close and obviously we didn't do that," UTEP head coach
Joe Golding said. "We kept fighting, we didn't quit. We just didn't play good basketball for the first 30 minutes. I thought the last 10 (minutes), we played pretty darn good."
The Miners shook off a sluggish shooting start to finish at 48.9 percent (23-47) from the floor, helped by nailing 9-20 (45.0 percent) from downtown. Six of UTEP's nine treys came over the final 20 minutes of action. Those efforts were a better than the Blue Raiders, who connected on 44.8 percent (26-68) overall and 33.3 percent (8-24) on triples.
UTEP was outrebounded (35-24), leading to a 12-2 edge in second-chance points for the home team. The Miners finished with 14 turnovers, nine of which came in the opening frame. That played a role with MTSU holding a 18-11 advantage for points off giveaways. The advantages in these areas, in addition to the Blue Raiders going 17-22 compared to UTEP's 12-17 at the free-throw line helped them compensate for being outshot.
After MTSU scored on its opening trip, a corner trey from Watson got the Miners on the board. The home side countered with an 11-2 run as UTEP slipped behind by eight (13-5) seven minutes into the contest. West Jr. stopped the surge with a reverse layup to cut the differential to six.
The Blue Raiders struck back with a 10-2 surge, with the deficit for UTEP suddenly at 14 (23-9, 9:04, 1H). The Miners fired off an 8-0 run to creep within six (23-17, 6:34, 1H), with consecutive triples from Jones followed by a driving layup by Blackwell.
A 6-0 stretch from MTSU forced the Orange and Blue to deal with another double-digit differential (29-17). The margin was 11 (30-19) before a mini 5-0 push brought the Miners within six again (30-24, 1:55, 1H). Hayes split a pair of free throws, and then Blackwell and Hayes each knocked down shots to force a MTSU timeout. A 3-pointer and a 1-2 effort at the line on the ensuing possessions let the Blue Raiders secure a 10-point cushion before two late free throws from Watson made it an eight-point affair (34-26) heading into halftime.
MTSU opened the second stanza on a 9-0 run. It prompted a timeout from the Orange and Blue as they trailed by 17 (43-26, 17:07, 2H). UTEP stopped the surge with a free throw, but the damage had been done.
The Miners eventually trailed by as many as 24. The deficit was still 23 (60-37, 11:24, 2H) before Watson caught fire by nailing a 3-pointer in three straight possessions as part of his big second half. UTEP kept coming, and after back-to-back triples from Horton III, it was suddenly an eight-point game (71-63, 3:47, 2H). The Blue Raiders were able to do enough down the stretch to stem the rally and secure the triumph.
UTEP will play its final regular-season road contest when it locks up at WKU at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT on Saturday. The Miners will be looking to avenge a 68-56 home setback to the Hilltoppers (1/10) earlier this year.
Jon Teicher (45th year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso. It will also stream on ESPN+ (subscription required).
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