UTEP battles before late run helps WKU hold off Miners, 90-80
(Courtesy: UTEP Athletics)
BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky - Tae Hardy tallied 19 points to pace a quartet of Miners in double figures in a back-and-forth game before homestanding WKU pulled away late to hold off UTEP,90-80, inside E.A. Diddle Arena Thursday evening.
The game featured seven ties and five lead changes, with the Miners (13-12, 4-6 CUSA) seemingly answering every run by the Toppers (18-7, 7-4 CUSA). WKU found one more gear late, however, unleashing an 11-2 surge to turn a 65-65 contest into a 76-67 lead for the home side with roughly five minutes to play.
UTEP continued to battle but could never recover.
The Miners registered 12 steals on 16 turnovers by WKU, allowing them to set the single-season school record in the process.
UTEP had entered seven steals shy of breaking the mark of 288 shared by the 2009-10 and 2022-23 squads.
The Orange and Blue shot 41.4 percent (28-68) from the floor, including filling up seven 3-pointers while putting up a good fight on the boards (WKU 40-38), but couldn’t they overcome a hot shooting night by the Toppers.
WKU connected on 56.7 (34-60) of its looks to help improve to 11-1 on the year at home.
Otis Frazier III (15 points), Zid Powell (12 points) and Corey Camper Jr. (11 points) joined Hardy in double figures for scoring.
Frazier III recorded nine boards to come within one of a double-double.
Kevin Kalu was tremendous, registering seven points while matching Frazier III with nine rebounds.
He added two blocks and a steal.
UTEP shared the ball effectively with 16 assists. Hardy led the way with four followed by three each by Camper Jr., Frazier III and Powell.
Powell (three), Frazier III (two) and Hardy (two) each recorded multiple steals to lead the charge in that department on the record-setting night.
WKU’s high-octane offense was too much, however, with the Toppers tallying an opponent high for scoring this year.
The 90 points eclipsed the 88 tallied by ACU on Dec 17. Reigning CUSA Player of the Week Don McHenry keyed the charge with a game-high 25 points, with three others also reaching double digits in scoring.
One other factor was UTEP finishing an uncharacteristic 14-25 at the charity stripe while WKU went 16-22.
“Our guys fought, they competed and WKU tried to bury us,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “It was a 10-round fight. They threw about four or five haymakers, and we threw about four or five. They just threw the last couple. We have to do a better job in the last seven minutes of getting better shots and getting to the free throw line. Then, we’ve got to step up and make those free throws. We’ve (also) got to find a way to get stops. Give them credit, they executed and hit some shots late.”
Frazier III came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for the And-1 score to get UTEP going on the game’s first possession. WKU countered with six straight points to pull ahead before Jon Dos Anjos cut to the hoop and banked home a lay-up on the find from Hardy.
UTEP was within one (8-7, 16:23, 1H) but six straight points, including four at the charity stripe, stretched the home side’s advantage to seven (14-7, 14:44 1H). Frazier III hung in the air and used the glass nicely on a runner to end the mini push.
The Toppers nudged it to eight (17-9, 13:30, 1H), but four-time CUSA Freshman of the Week David Terrell Jr. showed off his versatility with a teardrop floater. Hardy then picked the pocket of a WKU player and found Calvin Solomon with a behind-the-back pass, who fought through contact for the score. Another lay-up by Dos Anjos-this time on the find by Frazier III- capped the 6-0 run and got the Orange and Blue within two (17-15, 11:19, 1H).
WKU had a response, which came in the form of a 13-3 surge, on the way to securing a double-digit differential (30-18, 7:06, 1H). Hardy brought that to a halt by filling up a 3-pointer in transition, but the home side scored on the ensuing possession to reestablish a double-digit differential (32-21).
The Miners remained down by double figures (33-23, 5:32, 1H) before they started to make their move. It came in the form of a 10-0 run, which was ignited by consecutive 3-pointers. Camper Jr. started it by knocking down a trey, which was followed by another by Elijah Jones. After a steal by Solomon, Hardy slipped out ahead of the defense to finish the lay-up in transition. He then capped the blitz with a pair of tosses at the charity stripe line, knotting the contest at 33.
WKU stopped it with a score before two free throws by Kalu put UTEP back in front. The Miners nudged it to three (40-37, 1:29, 1H) following a backdoor cut and reverse hoop and harm for Powell. Two late free throws by the Toppers resulted in a one-point edge (40-39) for UTEP heading into halftime.
The home side came out firing to start the second half, ripping off eight consecutive points en route to suddenly grabbing a seven-point advantage (47-40, 17:26, 2H). Consecutive 3-pointers, one from Terrell Jr. and another by Camper Jr., in a span of 40 seconds made it a one-point affair (47-46).
After WKU went back out by three (52-49) Kalu tallied four in a row, including draining two free throws, to flip the lead and put UTEP back out by one. The Toppers countered immediately with five straight points. UTEP registered a steal by Kalu and after a scramble an outlet found Frazier III in transition for the old-fashioned 3-point play.
The Toppers managed to move the margin to five (63-58), but UTEP struck back in the form of its own 5-0 run to knot the game at 63. The two teams traded buckets to preserve the tie at 65 only to have WKU come alive. It was in the form of an 11-2 game-altering run to put the Orange and Blue down by nine (76-67) with roughly five minutes to play.
The Miners kept battling from that point but were unable to get back into it.
UTEP will vie to split its two-game roadswing by challenging Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn., at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT Saturday.
Jon Teicher (43rd year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners App. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
