UTEP leads wire-to-wire for first win at New Mexico State in 14 years, 66-63

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -  Devon Barnes tallied 18 points, Otis Frazier III added 16 while the Miners won the rebounding battle (36-35) and held the Aggies to 30.4 percent shooting in the UTEP men’s basketball team’s wire-to-wire 66-63 victory at NM State Saturday evening.

It marks the first triumph at the Pan-American Center for the Miners (16-7, 6-4 CUSA) in 14 years (W, 74-72, Nov. 30, 2010).

Furthermore, it is the initial occasion since the 1978-79 season that UTEP knocked off the Aggies (12-11, 5-5 CUSA) in Las Cruces after dropping the first meeting of the campaign in El Paso.

The victory avenges the 85-57 setback on Jan. 11 while also improving UTEP to 4-4 on the road (3-2 CUSA) on the year.

It snaps a mini two-game skid as well.

Kevin Kalu came within one point of a double-double (nine points, 10 rebounds) while Frazier was one rebound shy (nine points) of doing so as well.

His 16 points marked his 14th straight game in double figures for scoring, and he is now one point shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.

David Terrell Jr. was credited with a game-high six assists to go along with two rebounds and five points, including a step-back 3-pointer to put the Miners up five (59-54) with 1:19 left.

After NM State cut it to two, Kalu slammed home a dunk on an out of bounds play to stretch the margin to four (61-57) with 38 seconds remaining.

Frazier III and Barnes proceeded to make five straight free throws to answer every Aggie score.

One miss late at the line kept the door cracked for NM State to tie it at the buzzer, but a long and hurried 3-pointer from the Aggies’ leading scorer Christian Cook was off target.

Barnes’s 18 points marked his second-highest total on the season, trailing only a 23-point effort at UCSB on Nov. 20.

He hit several big shots while also finishing 9-11 at the charity stripe. Baylor Hebb came off the bench to score eight points, equaling his most in a UTEP uniform.

The Miners defended extremely well, keeping NM State to a paltry 30.4 percent (17-56) from the floor, including just 23.3 percent (7-30) from 3-point range.

UTEP took good care of the ball (12 turnovers) and hit enough shots (21-52, 40.4 percent) to get it done. The Miners also were 14-19 (73.7 percent) in the second half at the charity stripe after a sluggish start (5-10) over the first 20 minutes.

“To come in here, after what happened last month, and get a win is huge for us,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “I’m really proud of our guys. We showed incredible toughness tonight. I didn’t think the finish was great, but I’m really proud of the resiliency. It’s a great rivalry. Both programs respect each other, Both fan bases respect each other. The last video we watched, about 11 p.m. last night, was a video of them (NM State) celebrating on our floor (at the Don) for the last five minutes with their fans, or whatever it was (last month). We watched it twice, and you didn’t hear anybody talk. To come in here tonight and win was huge for us.”

UTEP scored the first five points of the game, pushed it to 11 at one point before settling for a four-point cushion (28-24) at the half. The Miners then answered every run the home side made in the second stanza to produce its fifth wire-to-wire win of the year.

The Orange and Blue got off to a quick 5-0 lead, with all the points coming courtesy of Frazier III.

He got an offensive board and putback before knocking down a corner 3-pointer.

The Aggies got within three, but UTEP scored six quick points to stretch the lead to nine (12-3, 13:41, 1H) and force a timeout from the home side.

Barnes started it with a stutter stop and go before banking in the shot. Elijah Jones then closed out quickly on a shooter to block a shot. After Barnes grabbed the loose ball, he sent a full-length pass to Jones.

He caught it and scored on underneath the hoop in a single motion. Terrell Jr. then capped the run by blowing past the defense for a lay-up.

NM State knocked down a 3-pointer out of the timeout, which UTEP countered with five straight on the way to securing a double-digit advantage.

Frazier III buried another 3-pointer before Derick Hamilton hammered home a dunk to put the lead at 17-6 (12:18, 1H).

After an Aggie trey stopped the mini 5-0 run, Barnes moved the margin back to 11 (20-9, 11:41, 1H).

NM State would respond, however, taking advantage of a cold shooting stretch and some uncharacteristic turnovers by the Miners allowed the Aggies to put together a 10-1 run on the way to cutting UTEP’s lead down to one (21-20, 3:01, 1H).

Hebb halted the push with a great pump fake to get fouled. He calmly knocked down both makes at the line, inching the margin back to three.

After the Miners forced a stop, KJ Thomas broke down the defense before tossing a perfect lob to Kalu for the emphatic alley-oop that rattled the rim.

The Aggies crept within two before a Barnes driving lay-up with less than a minute to play in the half sent the Miners back up by four (28-24) heading into the locker room. It was nearly seven, as the three-quarter length shot by Barnes at the buzzer was on target but rimmed out.

It was back-and-forth over the first four minutes of the second half before Barnes was fouled on a 3-point attempt.

He stepped to the line to drill all three tosses, nudging the Orange and Blue’s margin to five (36-31, 15:32, 2H). UTEP got a quick stop and good ball movement set up Hebb in the corner, who was pure on his 3-pointer.

NM State got its own triple to stop the 6-0 push before consecutive scores for UTEP sent it back to nine. Terrell Jr. set up Kalu for the alley-oop. Frazier III then tipped in a misfire.

It remained at nine (45-36, 12:13, 2H), but the Aggies ripped off six straight to cut the Miners’ lead to three (45-42, 10:09, 2H).

Barnes, with the shot-clock winding down, hit a step-back jumper to silence to crowd and stem the tide.

After the Miners forced a turnover, Frazier III then followed up a misfire by flying in for the put back.

An Aggie free throw brought them within six, but Hebb nailed all three tosses at the line after he was fouled on a triple try to move it back to nine (52-43, 8:26, 2H).

The advantage was seven (54-47, 7:14, 2H) before five in a row from the Aggies, including a 3-pointer, whittled UTEP’s edge to two (4:40, 2H).

The Miners got a couple more stops before Barnes was fouled away from the ball. He sank both free throws to end a scoreless drought of nearly five minutes.

The Miners were clinging to a two-point edge (56-54) when Terrell Jr. shook his defender with the drop-step 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire.

The Aggies drained a trey of their own on the next possession to get within two.

Golding called timeout and drew up a great out of bounds play, with Kalu finishing the pass from Terrell Jr. with a two-hand slam.

To their credit, the Aggies kept hitting shots to keep the pressure on the Miners, but UTEP didn’t flinch.

Frazier III and Barnes stepped up at the line down the stretch, and UTEP held on after Cook misfired as time expired.

UTEP will return to the friendly confines of the Don Haskins Center to play host to FIU on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT.

It is the start of a mini two-game homestand, with Liberty making the visit to the Sun City for a 7 p.m. start on Feb. 15.