UTEP basketball begins Rodney Terry Era with 90-63 win over UTPB
Rodney Terry is now 1-0 as the head men’s basketball coach at UTEP after his Miners pulled away in the second half to beat UT Permian Basin by a final of 90-63 Tuesday night.
Evan Gilyard paced the Miners with 24 points, connecting on six of his nine attempts from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, freshman forward Efe Odigie had a strong debut with 23 points and nine rebounds.
UTEP outscored UTPB by 23 points in the second half after leading by just four at the half. The Miners connected on 11 of their 23 attempts from downtown (47.9%) and held the Falcons to just 3-15 shooting from deep (20%).
The two teams combined to shoot 69 free throws in a game that was plagued by fouls. A total of 58 personal fouls were called Tuesday night – 36 of them on UTPB.
Kyree Elder led the Falcons with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, but the Miners kept him in check in the second half en route to a blowout victory.
The Miners now have to shift their attention to a tough matchup on the road at New Mexico State on Friday. The Aggies cruised to an easy 73-56 win over North Dakota State in their home opener Tuesday night.
