UTEP basketball coach Rodney Terry hospitalized in ‘critical’ condition as Miners drop conference opener

MIAMI, Florida -- UTEP head men's basketball coach Rodney Terry remained hospitalized in Florida and was listed in critical condition on Thursday night, roughly 24 hours after experiencing an allergic reaction to a meal.

A spokesperson at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami confirmed to ABC-7 that Terry was being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit.

In a statement late Thursday, the university said that Terry suffered anaphylactic shock and was in critical but stable condition. While UTEP said it expected Terry to make a full recovery, there was no timetable given for his return to coaching.

The initial disclosure that Terry was hospitalized came earlier Thursday as first-year assistant coach Kenton Paulino took over at the helm for UTEP, which lost to Florida International 69-67 in their Conference USA opener without Terry.

“Coach Terry wanted to be here, and he’s doing much, much better,” Paulino had said Thursday afternoon following the loss. “[The hospital] wanted to hold him for a certain period of time and they wouldn’t let him go. But he’s ready to get back to work.”

The Miners (9-5, 0-1 Conference USA) spent the second half trying to battle back from a 10 point deficit at halftime. UTEP had trailed FIU throughout the entire first half and turnovers played a key role. The Miners turned the ball over 17 times during the game - with 13 of those coming in the first half.

“We didn’t play nowhere what we're capable of playing in the first half,” Paulino said. “We gave away 20 minutes, as we didn’t do a good job at taking care of the ball in the first half... But we made adjustments and fought back in the second half to make it a close contest.”

The Miners were up three points with just over five minutes remaining in the game, but then the Panthers (10-4, 1-0 C-USA) went on a 9-4 run down the stretch to claim the two-point victory.

Daryl Edwards led the Miners with a game-high 20 points, while Bryson Williams tallied 12 points and nine boards in the loss.

While Terry remained hospitalized in Miami on Thursday night, his team headed up the road in Florida to Boca Raton to prepare for their next game Saturday against Florida Atlantic.