UTEP Men’s Basketball falls in double OT at Middle Tennessee, 96-90
MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (KVIA) -- The UTEP men’s basketball team went back-and-forth all game long with homestanding Middle Tennessee before succumbing in double OT, 96-90, Saturday evening.
The contest featured nine lead changes and eight ties, including a 13-0 run by the Miners (13-13, 4-7 CUSA) that put them by up seven (55-48) with roughly six minutes to play in regulation. The Blue Raiders (11-15, 5-6 CUSA) rallied back in the form of a 16-4 surge to lead by five (64-59, 2:21, 2H). UTEP responded and eventually pulled ahead following a triple by Jon Dos Anjos and an old-fashioned 3-pointer from Tae Hardy. MT tied it with two free throws with 25 seconds left, and Hardy’s shot at the buzzer to win it refused to go down.
It was a similar story in OT where a triple from Dos Anjos with 16 seconds left tied the tilt at 77. UTEP then forced a turnover on the inbounds play to set up another possible game winner. Hardy had a good look at it, but it refused to go down.
The Miners led over the first two minutes of double OT before a 6-0 run from the home side put it ahead for good as MT staved off the Orange and Blue.
Hardy poured in 24 points to lead the way for UTEP, followed by a career-best 14 for Dos Anjos. That was aided by a collegiate-high four triples. Zid Powell (13 points) also reached double figures in scoring while recording a team-high eight boards. David Terrell Jr. (seven points), Calvin Solomon (six points, four steals) and Derick Hamilton (six points, four boards) made quality contributions off the bench.
UTEP connected on 40.0 percent from the floor, took care of business at the charity stripe (21-25, 84.0 percent). It also racked up 15 steals on the way to forcing 25 turnovers, which were converted into 27 points. The Miners also took great care of the ball, only finishing with 10 giveaways.
Middle Tennessee overcame all of that by filling up 49.1 percent from the floor (27-55), including a ridiculous 58.3 percent (14-24) from 3-point range. It had entered the contest making 28.8 percent from distance. The Blue Raiders were 11-16 from 3-point range in the opening frame on the way to leading by six (38-32) at the break. Another factor was MT going 28-32 (87.5 percent) at the charity stripe in the contest. It was at 67.2 percent heading into the game.
Jestin Porter was the catalyst, piling up a career-high 41 points on a nearly perfect offensive performance. He was 11-16 from the floor, 8-8 on 3-pointers and 11-12 at the charity stripe. Jared Coleman-Jones buoyed him with a double-double (15 points, 13 boards) while Justin Bufford (12 points) and Elias King (11 points) also reached double figures in scoring.
“Tough times pass, but tough people last. We’re going to get tested with that in our program,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “We’ve got some tough dudes in there (the locker room) and they continue to fight and compete. Effort wasn’t the problem tonight. We had two chances, in regulation and overtime, where we got the ball (last). We got two good looks. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. Our execution down the stretch was really good. We got the ball where we wanted. It was a great college basketball game. Two teams competing and throwing punches back and forth.”
Kevin Kalu got the Miners on the board first with an up and under post move, but MT countered with consecutive 3-pointers to go out by four. UTEP would strike back with an 8-4 push to pull even at 10, including Hamilton connecting on 3-3 from the floor during the stretch to provide instant offense from the bench.
The Blue Raiders were even hotter at the other end, nailing eight triples over the first 11 minutes to help put the Orange and Blue down by eight (27-19). The sizzling start (9-12, FG, 8-10, 3FG) prompted Golding to call timeout for UTEP to regroup and recover.
Following a few empty possessions from each side, UTEP got respective baskets from Baylor Hebb on a backdoor cut and a floater by Trey Horton III to cut the deficit in half. MT nudged the margin back to six (29-23, 4:43, 1H) before four straight points by the Miners made it a one-possession affair.
MT responded with a half-closing 9-4 surge, as UTEP trailed by six (38-32) going into the locker room. Much to the chagrin of the Miners, it was fueled by three more 3-pointers, elevating the Blue Raiders’ first-half total to an already opponent season-high 11 made treys.
Both teams were scoreless through the first two minutes of the second half before Corey Camper Jr. filled up a mid-range jumper. The Blue Raiders answered with a lay-up to go back out by six. The two sides continued to trade buckets as the half wore on, with UTEP still down by six (48-42, 12:30, 2H).
The Miners turned up the heat defensively to ignite an 13-0 run on the way to surging out by seven (55-48). UTEP forced five turnovers in the sequence while getting stop after stop. At the other end of the court, the surge started innocently enough with a pair of free throws by Otis Frazier III, who finished the contest with eight points and five caroms. That was followed by a jumper from Horton III. Hamilton then came up with a steal, which culminated with a lay-up by Hardy on the find by Powell to tie the tilt.
Terrell Jr. then used a seal from Solomon to finish at the rim for the hoop and harm. He scored on the ensuing possession with another lay-up, which was followed by a jumper by Hardy to wrap up the big run.
MT blitzed back with six in a row to make it a one-point tilt (55-54, 4:47, 2H). Solomon hit a pair of free throws to halt the run, but the home side got a lay-up immediately to once again get within one. After a Solomon lay-up, the Blue Raiders had an 8-0 push to regain the lead (64-59, 2:13, 2H).
Three consecutive points, including a dunk off a steal for Solomon, brought the Miners within two. MT answered immediately with a lay-up en route to going back out by four (66-62, 1:31, 2H). A 3-pointer by Dos Anjos followed by the hoop and harm for Hardy on a brilliant pass by Powell powered a 6-0 run to put the Miners in front by two (68-66). MT tied the tilt on two free throws with 25 seconds left, and a buzzer-beating try by Hardy didn’t drop.
MT got an And-1 on the opening possession of OT before Powell maneuvered in for a lay-up. He then blocked a shot and got another score to put UTEP up by one (72-71). The Blue Raiders scored the next four points to go out by four (76-72, 2:10, OT). The Miners remained down by three (77-74) with under 30 seconds to play in OT before Dos Anjos drained his third triple of the game to tie the tilt. UTEP forced a turnover on the inbounds play to have a shot to win it in the extra session, but Hardy’s shot was just off the mark.
Dos Anjos drilled his fourth and final 3-pointer to start UTEP off on the right note in the second OT frame, but MT countered immediately with a 3-pointer of its own. Powell came up short on a floater but tipped home the finish while getting hit for the And-1.
Incredibly, Porter filled up another triple to tie the tilt. Hardy’s lay-up reinstated two-point advantage for the Orange and Blue, but six consecutive points by MT sent it back into the lead (89-85, 1:54, 2OT). The Miners cut it to one (89-88), with Hardy making two free throws and Frazier III splitting a pair. That’s as close as UTEP would get, however, with MT getting four straight free throws to lead by five (93-88, 28.8 seconds, 2OT) on the way to closing out the contest.
UTEP returns to the friendly confines of the Don Haskins Center for a demanding two-game stretch, where it will play host to CUSA co-leaders LA Tech (7 p.m., Feb. 22) and Sam Houston (7 p.m., Feb. 24). 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 for both. Each contest 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.
