Kalu’s First career double-double helps UTEP down Jackson State, 67-61
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Kevin Kalu had a big night with his first career double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) while Otis Frazier III (team-high 16 points), Ahamad Bynum (12 points) and David Terrell Jr. (10 points) all joined him in double figures in scoring to help the UTEP men’s basketball team knock off pesky Jackson State, 67-61, in the first round of the 63rd-Annual WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Friday.
The Miners (8-3), who have won two straight and five of six, advance to the title tilt to challenge 2024 NCAA Tournament participant (second round) Yale (6-5) at 7 p.m. MT Saturday. UTEP will be in search of back-to-back crowns at the event, something it hasn’t done since a three-year run (2012-14) under then head coach Tim Floyd.
The Orange and Blue controlled for most of the contest, leading for nearly 38 minutes UTEP connected on 52.2 percent (24-46) from the floor, including 42.9 percent (6-14) from beyond-the-arc. The Miners also got after it with guarding, limiting the Tigers (0-11) to just 33.9 percent (20-59) shooting. That was affected by a paltry 3-24 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range.
UTEP forced 15 turnovers that led to 16 points, with 12 of those giveaways coming during the first half. That helped the Miners build a nine-point edge (31-22) heading into the locker room. JSU never got within six the rest of the way.
Rebounding (40-33) went in favor of the SWAC opponent, which was aided by 17 at the offensive end. JSU also forced UTEP into making 17 giveaways of its own.
Corey Camper Jr. only had two points, but he did pull down four boards, log a team-high 28 minutes while recording a squad-best +22 for plus/minus.
“Credit to Jackson State. They didn’t quit, they continued to fight,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “It’s on me. We’ve got a 20-point lead, and we didn’t finish the game. That’s coaching, I take the hit for it. I’ve got to do a better job with our guys of learning how to execute down the stretch. I thought the second half, our offensive execution was much better. (Ahamad) Bynum came in and give us a spark there off the bench. He hit some threes, allowed us to separate some. Defensively, we were not good in the second half. We only turned them over twice, and we got our butt kicked. Credit Jackson State. They played extremely hard and are going to win a lot of games in their league.”
UTEP pounced on the Tigers, grabbing a 6-0 lead two minutes in to force a timeout from JSU. Kalu started it by picking the pocket of his defender to set up a breakaway dunk. Terrell Jr. then hit two free throws before another Kalu dunk, on a dish by Frazier III, capped the strong start.
After the Tigers got on the board with an offensive putback, Terrell Jr. filled up the corner trey to nudge the margin to seven (9-2, 17:06, 1H). JSU responded with a 5-0 spurt before Bynum floated home a runner, making it 11-7 in favor of the home side. Another 5-0 blitz afforded JSU its first lead of the contest (12-11, 11:42, 1H).
The Tigers were still up by one (14-13) before UTEP blitzed the visitors with nine straight. Babacar Mbengue started it with nifty hook shot. The RS-freshman then came up with a steal and sent the outlet pass to Frazier III for the fastbreak layup. KJ Thomas forced a turnover with quick hands and once again Frazier III was the beneficiary, scoring on a two on one break. After JSU misfired, Frazier III drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to cap the run.
JSU, which endured a stretch with six turnovers in six minutes, ended the push with a pair of tosses at the charity stripe. The Miners eventually extended their lead to 10 (26-16, 3:45, 1H). It was back-and-forth during the final minutes of the stanza, with UTEP carrying a nine-point cushion (31-22) at the break.
Kalu hammered home a dunk on the alley-oop before a driving lay-up from Devon Barnes prompted a timeout from the visitors, with the lead at 13 (35-22, 18:33, 2H). Once again, JSU responded, doing so with its third 5-0 push of the affair. After a little back and forth, Kalu came up with another steal and breakaway slam.
Bynum, the national leader in 3-point shooting, then got cooking by draining treys on consecutive possessions. The second triple ignited a 7-0 run, which suddenly propelled the Miners to lead by 16 (51-35). Terrell Jr.’s driving lay-up and a turnaround hook by Derick Hamilton put the finishing touches on the surge.
JSU knocked down a free throw to halt things, but the damage had been done. It was a 15-point contest (56-41, 7:04, 2H) before the Orange and Blue ripped off seven in a row to seemingly wipe away any aspirations of a comeback from the Tigers. Thomas initiated it with a pair of free throws, which was followed by a trey by Trey Horton III. Camper Jr. then put the bow on the push to end the push.
The Tigers refused to quit, however, whittling a once 22-point UTEP advantage (63-41, 5:15, 2H) all the way to within six on a pair of occasions, but the Orange and Blue held on for the victory.
The Miners will look for their second straight championship at the event and 34th all time (33-15 in title tilts) when they lock up with the reigning Ivy League champion Bulldogs inside the Don Haskins Center at 7 p.m. MT Saturday. Jon Teicher (44th year) and Steve Yellen(22nd year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso, with audio also available on the UTEP Miners App. It will also be streamed lived on the Sun Bowl's YouTube Channel. For more information on the 2024 WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational please go to www.sunbowl.org. Fans may call (915) 747-UTEP for ticket information.
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