Balanced attack sends UTEP past Jax State, 79-71

(Courtesy: UTEP Athletics)

EL PASO, Texas - Five different Miners hit double figures in scoring, including Otis Frazier III’s game-high 17 points, as the UTEP men’s basketball team posted a wire-to-wire 79-71 victory against Jax State at the Don Haskins Center Thursday.

The Miners (12-10, 3-4 CUSA) bolted out to a 10-0 lead, putting the Gamecocks (11-11, 3-4 CUSA) on their heels from the get-go.

UTEP’s advantage was nine (52-43) with 12 minutes remaining in regulation before the visitors started to make a move.

A 10-2 run over the next two minutes cut the Orange and Blue’s edge down to one (54-53), but the Miners didn’t blink.

UTEP ripped off 10 consecutive points to vault back out by 11 (64-53, 6:59, 2H), and Jax State didn’t get closer than four the rest of the way.

Corey Camper Jr. scored 12 points while Tae Hardy, David Terrell Jr. and Trey Horton each added 10 to join Frazier III in double figures.

The Miners shot a crisp 44.6 percent (25-56) in the game and took care of business at the line by going 23-29 (79.3 percent) in a foul-plagued contest that featured a combined 50 infractions between the two sides.

UTEP moves to 9-1 on the campaign when attempting at least 29 free throws.

“Jax State is a really good team. They’ve won four road games. Their guards are terrific, they have toughness one through five and their big kids are good,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “We knew we weren’t going to run away with this thing. We had the 10-0 run (late) and from that point on we were able to secure the win. That was encouraging (five players in double figures). Our ball movement was really good. We made the right play, and that’s the reason we got five guys in double digits.”

The victory halts a mini two-contest skid and improves the Orange and Blue to 11-2 at home, including 3-0 in the Sun City during CUSA play.

UTEP now stands 3-4 overall in league play, putting it in a tie for fourth place heading into a showdown Saturday at 7 p.m. with preseason CUSA co-favorite Liberty. 

It will be a special evening, with the 2003-04 NCAA Tournament team coming back to El Paso to be honored 20 years later. 

JSU was held to 41.7 percent shooting (20-48), including just 25.0 percent (3-12) from distance.

It also couldn’t handle the Miners’ pressure defense, which forced the Gamecocks into 19 turnovers that UTEP converted into 22 points. UTEP also enjoyed advantages on fastbreak scoring (15-9), points in the paint (36-30) and bench points (27-15). Terrell Jr. and Horton III were key factors off the pine. Furthermore, the Miners filled up six 3-pointers, including a pair from Horton III and Frazier III.

Kevin Kalu recorded six points and a team-high six rebounds, including two at the offensive end. Another factor was UTEP holding CUSA’s leading scorer KyKy Tandy (19.0 ppg) to 15 points on 13 shot attempts. JSU tried to compensate for the Orange and Blue’s success in other areas by going 28-39 at the line and holding a slight edge on the boards (37-34), but UTEP had done enough.

UTEP came out firing, grabbing the 10-0 lead just two minutes into the contest. After Jax State got on the board, Hardy drained the Miners’ third trey early on, making it 13-2 (17:10, 1H) in favor of the Orange and Blue. Frazier III buried the other two 3-pointers and Kalu recorded a pair of baskets down low during the hot start to the game.

Following the visitors getting within single digits at 13-6, an old-fashioned 3-point play from Elijah Jones reinstated a double-digit lead. Four straight pointers for JSU cut UTEP’s cushion to six before good ball movement set up Camper Jr. for a 3-pointer that he buried. It was back-and-forth over the next couple of minutes, with the Orange and Blue up by seven (21-14, 7:23, 1H).

Facing a plethora of defensive looks, Terrell Jr. sliced through the defense to set up fellow freshman Horton III with a look at a 3-poitner as the shot clock wound down. He let it fly just before the buzzer, and it was pure. After two free throws for the Gamecocks-which continued a stretch of more than seven minutes without a field goal for the visitors- Horton III connected on his second consecutive triple to afford the Orange and Blue an 11-point advantage (27-16, 5:43, 1H).

Jax State ripped off seven straight points, including hitting a couple of field goals after the long drought, to creep within four but UTEP countered. It was courtesy of the hoop and harm from Zid Powell (seven points) to put the home side back up by seven. The visitors immediately answered with a triple, but a nifty post move from Derick Hamilton nudged the margin to six. UTP pushed it to eight following two free throws by Terrell Jr., but Jax State put up the final four points in the frame to trim the Orange and Blue’s in half (36-32) heading to halftime.

It was a bit of a choppy start to the second stanza, with Jax State getting its first five points of the frame at the charity stripe. The Miners were a bit more conventional, and a turnaround jumper from Camper Jr. put them up by seven (44-37) at the first media break.

UTEP’s lead was at nine following a bank shot in traffic from Horton III, but Jax State peeled off the next five points to help start its rally attempt. The visitors eventually got within one (54-53) but UTEP responded with 10 straight.

Horton III started it with a pair of free throws, which was followed by an old-fashioned 3-point play courtesy of Hardy. After another stop, it was Terrell Jr’s turn for the hoop and harm. Hardy then capped the sequence with a lay-up in transition, essentially sealing Jax State’s fate in the process.

UTEP continues its three-game homestand when it plays host to co-preseason CUSA favorite Liberty at 7 p.m. MT Saturday. The 2003-04 NCAA Tournament team will be recognized at the game.