UTEP gets off to slow start in close loss to Old Dominion

UTEP and Old Dominion combined for just 39 total points in the first half on 15-66 shooting in Thursday’s game at the Don Haskins Center.

It was that slow start and a late jump ball that wound up dooming the Miners in a 50-48 loss.

The Miners had the ball with eight seconds to go down by just two points. But ODU managed to tie up Efe Odigie after he caught the ball in the post. The possession arrow favored the Monarchs, and they would close out the game by throwing the ball downcourt off the inbounds as time expired.

It was a tough break for UTEP considering they trailed by 11 earlier in the second half and mounted a furiuos comeback only to fall short yet again.

Efe Odigie tallied another double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds and was the only UTEP player to reach double figures in scoring.

UTEP fell to 1-6 in Conference USA play with the loss while Old Dominion now sits at 6-2 in league action.

The Miners tallied just 17 points in the first half and managed to score just seven points over the course of the first 14 minutes of the contest. They shot a mere 15-58 from the field over the course of the entire game (25.9%).

UTEP’s 48 points is the lowest scoring output for the team in conference play thus far. It’s also their second-lowest output of the season. The Miners were held to 46 points in a blowout loss at Arizona early in the season.

UTEP must regroup now for another home game Saturday at 7 p.m. against Charlotte.