UTEP Men blow 16-point lead to fall 72-68 at FIU

MIAMI, Florida (KVIA) -- UTEP drained 59 percent from the floor (27-46), including 57 percent from 3-point range (8-14), but a late run by FIU allowed the Panthers to sneak past the Miners, 72-68, Saturday evening.

Tae Hardy tallied a team-high 15 points while freshmen Trey Horton (career-high 14 points) and David Terrell Jr. (10 points) joined him in double figures to lead the way offensively. Otis Frazier III added nine points (4-5 shooting) in addition to grabbing a game-leading six rebounds to buoy their efforts.

The Miners (9-8, 0-2 CUSA) led for nearly 38 minutes, including being up by 15 (64-49) with seven minutes left. The Panthers (7-11, 2-1 CUSA) fought back, though, with a game-closing 23-4 run to complete the comeback. That included an 11-0 surge over the final 3:29, with FIU managing to take its first lead of the game with only 27 seconds left.

UTEP had a chance to tie it, but it committed the final of its 25 turnovers in the game that resulted in a dunk to beat the buzzer and cap the contest. FIU also had problems with ball security (21 turnovers), but it had a 28-18 edge in points off turnovers.

The Miners enjoyed the advantage on fastbreak points (12-0) and bench scoring (32-19), but it wasn’t enough to come away with the victory. The Panthers connected on 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor, including going 16-25 (64.0 percent) in the second half.

“Yeah (the loss) hurts. I thought we had a great prep and did some good things,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “We built up a 15 or 16-point lead and then we quit guarding on the defensive end. The bottom line, we talked it about it from the very beginning, turnovers. Turnovers cost us the game. We turned the ball over 25 times. You’re going to have a hard time winning on the road when you do that. In late possessions, we turned the basketball over. You can’t do that. You’ve got to value the basketball.”

UTEP took a 6-3 lead less than two minutes into the contest with a 3-pointer from Hardy and an And-1 courtesy of Powell. After a basket from the home side, the Miners ripped off eight straight points on the way to leading by nine (14-5, 15:41, 1H). Corey Camper Jr. got it going by burying a trey. After the Miners got a stop, Frazier III pulled up to knock down a jumper. Following a flurry of turnovers from each side, Horton III was pure on the first of his three 3-pointers in the half to cap the surge.

FIU peeled off six in a row to get within three (14-11, 10:36, 1H), but UTEP answered immediately. Baylor Hebb drained the corner 3-pointer off beautiful ball movement by the Orange and Blue. Terrell Jr. then came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for the score. Six consecutive points from the Panthers cut the Miners’ lead to two (19-17, 8:52,1H), but a mini 5-0 push for UTEP nudged its margin back to seven.

The Panthers continued to pressure and were within three (31-28) with 52 seconds left in the period, but once again the Miners responded. Terrell Jr. drained a jumper. UTEP got a stop at the other end and Horton III was pure on a three late in the possession to make it an eight-point differential (36-28) at the break.

FIU tallied the first seven points out of the gates to start the second half, prompting Golding to call timeout. The Miners responded in a big way, unleashing a 15-2 run to seemingly rip the game wide open at 51-37 (13:12, 2H) and this time force FIU into a timeout.

Camper Jr. curled off a screen by Calvin Solomon to fill up a jumper to get it going. After an FIU turnover, Hardy split the defense for the lay-up off the glass. Camper Jr. then registered the steal and raced up the court, setting up Frazier III for the alley-oop. After the Miners got another stop, Frazier III connected on a trey to beat the buzzer right in front of UTEP’s bench to stretch the margin to double figures (45-35, 15:44, 2H).

FIU finally stopped it but consecutive buckets for UTEP advanced its lead to 16 (55-39, 11:39, 2H). Hardy hit a beautiful fadeaway jumper shot and then Terrell Jr. drove through the defense for the spinning lay-up and score. The Miners remained up by 15 (64-49, 7:16, 2H) before the home side tallied the next eight points in the contest, including back-to-back 3-pointers, to whittle it to seven 64-57, 6:02, 2H) and force a UTEP timeout.

Hardy got a dunk off a feed from Solomon to slow the surge, but FIU scored the next four points to get within five (66-61, 3:59, 2H). The Miners got a lay-up on the ensuing possession, with Camper Jr. skillfully passing out of a double team to find a wide-open lay-up for Frazier III. 

FIU countered with a 9-0 run, which was part of a bigger 21-4 surge, on the way to taking the lead at 70-68 with 27 seconds left. UTEP had a chance to tie it on the final possession but committed a turnover which the home side converted into a dunk at the buzzer to close out the contest.

The Miners open up a two-game homestand with a nationally-televised (CBS Sports Network) match-up with Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. Thursday. Jon Teicher (43rd year) and Steve Yellen (21st year) will also be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners App. Tickets start as low as $9.15. For more information, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.