UTEP Men’s Basketball Defeated At Utah State, 75-51

LOGAN, Utah – The UTEP men's basketball team was upended at perennial NCAA Tournament team Utah State, 75-51, on the road Saturday afternoon.

The Miners (2-2) forced 17 turnovers and held the Aggies (4-0) to 16 points below their seasonal scoring average, but a big run late in the first half proved costly. UTEP trailed by just four (21-17) with four minutes left in the frame before USU peeled off 11 in a row. The Miners halted the run, but the damage had been done, as they found themselves down by (34-20) heading to halftime. The Orange and Blue fought over the final 20 minutes, but they were unable to get back into things.

UTEP finished at 37.3 percent from the floor (19-51), including 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3-16). Utah State connected on 47.9 percent overall (23-48) despite the Miners holding them to 26.1 percent on triples (6-23).  

Elijah Jones paced UTEP with 13 points followed by nine from Jamal West Jr. and seven each courtesy of Caleb Blackwell and David Tubek. Cassius Brooks chipped in six points. Tyreese Watson was hindered by foul trouble, finishing with four points and three steals.

The Orange and Blue went 10-19 (52.6 percent) on free throws compared to 23-36 (63.9 percent) by the home side.

Garry Clark keyed the charge for USU, which has gone to six of the past seven NCAA tournaments, with a double-double (20 points, 13 rebounds). He was one of six Aggies to reach double figures in scoring in the game.

It was a defensive battle early on, with UTEP trailing by one (3-2) heading to the first media timeout. After a trey by the home side, Brooks split the defense for a layup to make it a one-possession game (6-4, 14:43, 1H).

The deficit remained two (8-6, 11:29, 1H) following a lay-up from Kaseem Watson. Eight straight, however, by the home side put UTEP down by 10 (16-6, 8:35, 1H). West Jr. ended the push by pump faking past his defender for the lay-up and foul. He sank the free throw out of the break, bringing the Miners within seven (16-9, 7:59, 1H). UTEP kept chipping away, with a layup by Tubek and two free throws from West Jr. cutting the difference to five (18-13, 6:04, 1H).

After USU stretched it back to seven, Blackwell buried a step-back 3-pointer to make it a four-point affair. After a timeout, the Aggies took advantage of some Miner miscues to peel off 11 in a row and suddenly lead by 15 (32-17, 1:53, 1H).  A pair of free throws from KJ Thomas halted the run, but its impact was felt. UTEP entered the locker room down by 14 (34-20).

The Miners got baskets from three different players early in the second half, but the home side countered each time. UTEP kept fighting as Tyreese Watson came up with a steal. He threaded the needle to Jones for the one-hand flush, but the deficit remained 13 (44-31, 12:47, 2H).

The Orange and Blue continued to battle as the half wore on, but each surge was countered. USU got hot down the stretch to pull away for the 24-point triumph.

UTEP will be back home for one game when it locks up with St. Thomas (Texas) at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19. Tickets may be obtained by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or calling (915) 747-UTEP. Jon Teicher (45th year) and Steve Yellen (23rd 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), with Andy Morgan and former Miner assistant coach Bobby Braswell describing the action.