UTEP falls at Kennesaw State, 83-73
KENNESAW, Georgia (KVIA) -- Ahamad Bynum poured in a career-high 24 points off the bench while David Terrell Jr. added 16 points (one shy of career best), but a slow start loomed large in the UTEP men’s basketball team’s 83-73 setback at Kennesaw State Thursday evening.
The Miners (17-9, 7-6 CUSA) dug themselves an 8-0 early hole, and they were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way against the Owls (15-12, 8-6 CUSA). UTEP trailed by 14 (47-33) at the break and fell behind by as many as 19 (56-37, 16:44, 2H) three minutes into the second half. The Orange and Blue refused to quit, though. They fought back to whittle the deficit down to six (71-65) with 6:04 remaining in regulation, but they were unable to complete the comeback.
UTEP shot it decently overall at 44.1 percent (26-59), but it had an off night from beyond-the-arc (5-20, 25.0 percent). The Miners were also 16-24 (66.7 percent) at the charity stripe. KSU connected on 50.9 percent (27-53), aided by making its first seven shots of the contest. The Owls also bombed home 10 triples (10-27, 37.0 percent) while draining 19-24 (78.9 percent) at the free-throw line.
Bynum’s 24 points are the most by a UTEP player this season, eclipsing the 23-point effort from Devon Barnes at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 20.
Corey Camper Jr. posted his second consecutive contest in double figures (10 points) to buoy Terrell Jr. and Bynum. Bynum finished 11-12 at the free-throw line, which also set career bests. Kevin Kalu netted five points and five rebounds. Camper Jr. also had five boards, helping UTEP keep competitive (32-30, KSU) against the top rebounding team in the conference.
Otis Frazier III had his 16-game double-digit scoring streak snapped with a three-point effort, but he did contribute a game-high four steals. Trey Horton III netted seven points off the bench.
“Obviously a poor start. We’ve got to do a much better job off the start. I’ve felt it all week,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “It’s that time of year. We didn’t come off (strong early). Some of that was on our staff. We’ve got to do a better job of getting them ready to play and some of it was on our players. The positive was, I didn’t think we quit all night. When you watch college basketball right now, there’s all these 25, 30-point games. We fought, we continued to compete. We gave ourselves a couple chances where we were a couple shots away from making it a one-possession game. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
KSU splashed home consecutive 3-pointers before a dunk made it 8-0 barely two minutes into the contest, prompting Golding to call timeout. Terrell Jr. sliced through the defense for a lay-up out of the break. UTEP then forced a turnover, which led to an alley-oop for Kalu to cut the KSU lead in half.
The Owls countered with seven straight points, including a windmill alley-oop, before Camper Jr. halted it with a turnaround floater. KSU answered with a bucket immediately to improve to 7-7 from the floor. Another basket by Camper Jr. let the Miners creep within single digits. After a free throw from Terrell Jr., Bynum’s slashing score trimmed the deficit to six (17-11).
KSU hit another triple on the next possession, which was countered by Bynum’s corner trey. Another 3-pointer by the home side extended its margin back to nine. Consecutive scores from Terrell Jr. and Camper Jr., respectively, made it a five-point affair. The Owls ripped off eight straight on the way to moving the margin to 13 (31-18, 9:42, 1H). UTEP remained down by double digits (35-24) before tallying seven in a row to suddenly whittle the deficit to four (35-31, 5:46, 1H).
The Owls responded with a half-closing 12-2 push, including nine in a row, with UTEP trailing by 14 (47-33) heading to the locker room.
KSU nudged the differential to 19 (56-37, 16:44, 2H), in the opening stages of the second half but UTEP struck back with seven in a row. Horton III started it by pump faking past the defender and knocking down a jumper. Camper Jr. then flew to the hoop for a score. Terrell Jr. capped the surge with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
It was back-and-forth over the next few minutes, with the Owls maintaining a 12-point cushion (64-52, 12:11, 2H). Frazier III came up with a steal and fed it ahead to a streaking Terrell Jr. for the lay-up. Terrell Jr. picked the pocket of his defender on the next possession and soared in for an uncontested dunk to force a timeout by KSU.
After the Owls nudged their lead back to double digits (71-60, 8:48, 2H) five consecutive points by the Orange and Blue to inch within six. Two free throws sandwiched a Bynum 3-pointers. KSU tallied the next nine points of the affair, sealing the Miners’ fate in the process.
UTEP will wrap up the week on the road by battling league-leading Jax State at 3 p.m. MT/4 p.m. CT on Saturday. Jon Teicher (44th year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso, with audio available on the UTEP Miners App as well. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required)
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