The Miners fall 83-82 after a heartbreaking buzzer-beater from Rice
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Miners will keep searching for their first road win of the season after a buzzer-beater from Rice saw them fall 83-82 Saturday.
The Miners were matching it with Rice and found themselves up 6 in the second half, that was until the Owls went on a 13-0 run. But UTEP like they've done all season fought back to be within 3 points with less than 30 seconds to go.
With the clock winding down UTEP forced two different turnovers which Mario McKinney Jr. and Tae Hardy capitalized on giving UTEP a 82-81 lead with just over 6 seconds to play.
Off the Hardy free-throw, Rice went the length of the court finishing with a Travis Evee left side floater to seal the game.
“We gave ourselves a chance but (Evee) hit a tough shot,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “I’m impressed with the hustle play Tae Hardy had and then the one Calvin (Solomon) had right here (by the UTEP bench) to give us a chance. It was just multiple effort plays. The guys fought back and competed, and that’s what you like to see as a coach."
Hardy poured in 20 points to go along with a career-high five steals, Shamar Givance recorded his second double-double (16 points, 10 assists) of the year before fouling out late in the contest. McKinney Jr. (14 points) and Solomon (12 points) also reached double figures in scoring.
UTEP’s 81 points were the most against a DI opponent on the season, which was aided by nailing 50.0 from the floor. The Miners also took care of the ball (12 turnovers), dominated the paint (56-36) and forced 19 giveaways that led to 22 points, but the Owls overcame that by drilling 56.9 percent from the floor. That including going 10-23 (42.9 percent) from distance.
“Tonight, we didn’t guard the way we’re capable of guarding. It’s going to be tough for us to win games when we give up 83 points. We are going to continue to lay it on the line and keep competing. I feel for our team, they deserve better. We’re going to keep fighting. We’ve got some tough dudes in there.”
UTEP will next play at Charlotte on Monday at 2 p.m. MT, you can watch the game on ESPN+.
