UTEP Men’s Basketball edged by Liberty, 67-65
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Otis Frazier III (15 points, seven rebounds, three steals), Tae Hardy (14 points, four boards, two steals) and Corey Camper Jr. (13 points, career-high seven rebounds, three steals) all stuffed the stat sheet, but the UTEP men’s basketball team was clipped by Liberty, 67-65, at the Don Haskins Center Saturday evening.
The Miners (12-11, 3-5 CUSA) trailed by eight (37-29) at the break, but they fought all the way back to lead the Flames (14-9, 3-5 CUSA) by four (54-50) with just under seven minutes to play. Liberty managed to peel off nine consecutive points to regain the advantage for good.
UTEP had a chance to tie it with 36 seconds left after Camper Jr.’s steal set up Hardy with the Miners down three (65-62), but the shot refused to go down. Liberty did just enough in the final seconds to escape El Paso with the win and hand the Orange and Blue just their third setback on the season at the Don Haskins Center (11-3, 3-1 CUSA).
The Miners connected on 44.0 percent (22-50) and controlled the boards (39-28), but they couldn’t overcome 18 turnovers that led to 17 points for the Flames. Another factor was UTEP going 15-25 at the charity stripe (60.0 percent), including 11-20 (55.0 percent) over the final 20 minutes.
Zid Powell pitched in six points and a team-high four assists while Calvin Solomon produced five points and six boards on only 12 minutes of action. Jon Dos Anjos provided a boost off the bench with five points.
The Flames drilled 48.0 percent from the floor (24-50), which including knocking down eight treys on 21 attempts (38.1 percent). Similar to the Miners, they were challenged at the charity stripe. They finished 11-19 (57.1 percent). Liberty was a bit better at ball security, finishing with 14 giveaways.
Kaden Metheny, a transfer from Bowling Green transfer, poured in a game-high 21 points, aided by going 5-10 from distance to lead the way for Liberty. Zach Cleveland joined him in double digits with 18 points.
“We got up four and they go on a 9-0 run and obviously that was the difference in the ballgame,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “We did a much better job of guarding in the second half. We played five guards out there and hold them to two 3-pointers in the second half. The Achilles heel for us was turnovers. We turned the ball over 18 times against a team that doesn’t really turn you over, and then obviously the free throws.”
Solomon accounted for the first four points for the Miners, and it was back-and-forth early on. UTEP held a three-point edge (14-11, 12:33, 1H) after Hardy split the defense for a driving lay-up. The Flames countered with a 10-0 run, taking advantage of five UTEP giveaways in the sequence, on the way to vaulting out by seven (21-14, 7:04, 1H).
Another lay-up from Hardy halted the run, but Liberty immediately answered with a one of its six 3-pointers in the opening frame. The Flames remained up by a somewhat comfortable margin (31-23, 2:31, 1H) before UTEP tallied six of the next seven points on the way to cutting it down to three (32-29, 1:22, 1H). Lay-ups from Frazier III and a putback by Camper Jr. narrowed it to four.
After a free throw from the Flames, Frazier III cleaned up another missed shot by banking home a lay-up to make it a one-possession contest. Liberty accounted for the final five points in the frame, and the Miners trailed by eight (37-29) at the break as result.
UTEP got a bucket from Frazier III on the opening possession of the second half only to have the Flames fill up a 3-pointer to make it a nine-point affair (40-31, 18:24, 2H). The Orange and Blue would regroup and respond, tallying eight in a row. There were four consecutive free throws, followed by a basket by Frazier III and strong take from David Terrell Jr. The splurge brought the Miners to within one (40-39, 15:45, 2H).
The visitors nudged it back to five before a triple by Powell and a little hook shot by Terrell Jr. tied the tilt. After Liberty regained a mini differential (48-47, 10:30, 2H), UTEP responded with a 7-2 push to grab a four-point cushion (54-50, 6:52, 2H).
The Flames found a way to fight back, taking advantage of some missed free throws and a couple of turnovers, en route to putting together a game-altering 9-0 run. UTEP kept fighting down the stretch, and after a pair of free throws from Hardy, it was a 3-point game (65-62). Camper Jr. then came up with a steal and fed it to Hardy for a 3-pointer, but it wouldn’t drop.
Liberty did enough in the waning seconds to hold on.
UTEP is idle for a week before playing host to I-10 rival NM State at 7 p.m. MT on Feb. 10. Jon Teicher (43rd year) and Steve Yellen (21st year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners App. It will also stream on ESPN+ (subscription required, with Mando Medina (play-by-play) and former Miner (Hooper Vint) describing the action. Tickets start as low as $9.15. For more information, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.
