UTEP Men’s Basketball Clipped At First-Place Jax State, 73-65

JACKSONVILLE, Alabama (KVIA) -- Otis Frazier III poured in a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double this season while also coming up with five steals to move into fourth place all time on the school’s career charts for the category, but the UTEP men’s basketball team was upended at Jax State, 73-65, Saturday afternoon.

After an early edge by the Miners (17-10, 7-7 CUSA), the Gamecocks (19-9, 11-4 CUSA) got going to vault ahead by double digits (24-13) midway through the opening half. UTEP struck back with a 14-5 surge to fight all the way back to within two (29-27) with about five minutes remaining in the first stanza.

To its credit, JSU responded by wrapping a 15-2 run around halftime to stretch the differential to 15 (44-29) with 17 minutes to play in the contest. UTEP kept battling as the game wore on, but it could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Neither team shot it particularly well, with the Miners finishing at 41.1 percent (23-56) and the home side filling up 41.7 percent (25-60). JSU had an edge from distance in terms of total makes, connecting on 7-23 (30.4 percent) compared to UTEP’s 4-13 (30.8 percent). The Miners also kept it competitive on the glass (41-37 in favor of the Gamecocks), but missed free throws proved costly. UTEP finished at 51.7 percent (14-29) as opposed to JSU’s readout of 72.7 percent (16-22).

Frazier III now boasts 168 steals as a Miner, with the five thefts vs. JSU allowing him to vault past the late, great Jeep Jackson (165, 1983-87) for fourth all time on the school list. Frazier’s 25 points best his prior high of 24, coincidentally which came at Jax State last year (Feb. 29, 2024).

Nine other Miners scored in the contest, but Frazier III was the only one on the squad to reach double digits. Kevin Kalu tallied nine points while grabbing six rebounds. David Terrell Jr. also had nine points, while adding seven rebounds and a team-high four assists. Corey Camper Jr. pitched in seven points and three boards. No one else on the squad had more than five points.

The nation’s second-leading scorer, Jaron Pierre Jr. led the way for Jax State with 23 points, aided by filling up 5-12 from distance. The rest of the team of was 2-11 from beyond-the-arc. He was joined in double figures by Mason Nicholson (14 points) and Marcellus Brigham Jr. (11 points). Nicholson impacted the game defensively as well with six of JSU’s nine blocked shots.

“It was a tough one. It wasn’t a pretty game both ways. It was a typical Saturday afternoon game in Conference USA. It was real physical,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “We didn’t get off to a great start defensively again. They hit some shots. We didn’t and dug ourselves a hole. We battled back, but we had that one segment where were took three crappy shots and gave them an 8-0 run to get (the deficit back up) at halftime.

“In the second half, we found a group of guys that really wanted to compete and get after it,” Golding said. “We played some good basketball. We chipped away, got it to single digits again. The free-throw line was obviously the black eye. If we make free throws, we win the game.”

UTEP held advantages for points in the paint (36-24), fastbreak scoring (20-12) points off turnovers (15-13) and bench scoring (13-11), but it wasn’t enough to overcome its off day at the charity stripe.

After a triple from Pierre Jr., a hook shot from Terrell Jr. was followed by a dunk by Kalu to put UTEP up, 4-3. Jax State responded with six in a row before a mid-range jumper by Camper Jr. halted the run. The Gamecocks nailed another 3-pointer on the ensuing trip as the Miners fell behind by six (12-6, 15:16, 1H).

The deficit was seven (14-7), but UTEP kept chipping away. After two Ahamad Bynum free throws, Elijah Jones blocked a shot. Devon Barnes snagged the rebound and sent it ahead to Jones, who hammered it home with two hands. It remained a three-point tilt (16-13) in favor of the home side, but the Gamecocks turned things up and ripped off eight consecutive points on the way to extending the margin to double digits (24-13, 10:25, 1H).

Frazier III drained a 3-pointer to stop the surge and cut it to eight in the process. The Miners were down by nine (28-19, 9:01, 1H) when they turned up the heat defensively. UTEP forced JSU to misfire on 13 straight shots. That empowered the Miners to put together an 8-1 run to whittle the once 11-point differential down to two (29-27, 5:24, 1H).

Terrell Jr. started it by blowing by his defender for a layup. After a free throw from JSU, KJ Thomas got to the rim and finished on the find by Frazier III. Terrell Jr. followed a blocked shot by banking home the offensive putback. JSU misfired again and Camper Jr. capped the run with a fadeaway shot over a bigger defender to prompt a timeout by the Gamecocks.

It paid dividends for the home side, which struck back with a 10-2 push to close the half. That sequence, which was wrapped up by a long trey from Pierre Jr., sent the Miners into the locker room down by a 10 (39-29).

It was a defensive struggle over the first eight minutes of the second half, with JSU nudging its advantage to 14 (47-33) before a Thomas free throw.  UTEP trailed by 16 (60-44, 6:23, 2H),but peeled off seven in a row to creep within single digits. Hebb knocked down two tosses at the line to start it. Frazier III then dunked home his own miss, giving him a double-double in the process. A Terrell Jr. breakaway slam and a free throw from Frazier III concluded the sequence.

JSU countered and pushed it back out to a 14-point affair (68-54, 1:31, 2H). The Miners tallied the next seven points, with five courtesy of Frazier III, but it was too little too late.

UTEP returns home for its final two home contests of the season. Up first is a matchup vs. WKU at 7 p.m. MT on Thursday. The game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network. Jon Teicher (44th year) and Steve Yellen (22nd year) will also be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso, with audio airing on the UTEP Miners app as well. For tickets, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.

Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club. Visit givingto.utep.edu/mac today!

For complete coverage of UTEP men’s basketball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPMBB (Twitter), @utepmbb (Instagram) and on Facebook @UTEPMensBasketball  or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at www.UTEPMiners.com