Jones Earns Third Straight Conference USA Freshman of Week Honor
DALLAS, Texas (KVIA) -- Elijah Jones was named the Conference USA Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week for the third time in as many weeks to begin the season, the league office announced Monday. The 2023-24 CUSA Players of the Week awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear and are voted on by the league’s sports information directors. He becomes the first Miner in school history to garner three consecutive CUSA Freshman of the Week accolades.
Jones made the most of his minutes during UTEP’s three games in six days in California. He continued his sharp shooting, making 7-11 (63.6 percent) from the floor to rate second among UTEP reserves with 5.0 ppg in only 13.1 mpg.
The native of New Jersey added three offensive and four defensive rebounds (2.3 rpg), with his efforts on the glass pacing the Miners’ back-ups. He had five critical points in UTEP’s win against Cal, including floating home a jumper after the Bears had cut the Orange and Blue’s advantage to one in the second half.
Jones followed that up by tallying six points in the championship contest of the SoCal Challenge against Bradley. Overall, Jones is producing 9.3 ppg on 75.0 percent shooting (27-36) while also pacing Miner back-ups in rebounding (3.1 rpg).
Jones and the rest of the Miners return home for a mini two-game homestand, playing host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday (Nov. 29) before facing Western New Mexico at 7 p.m. MT on Dec. 4. Both contests will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso and streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Tickets are available by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or by calling (915) 747-UTEP.
