UTEP Men’s Basketball Edged By Middle Tennessee In Overtime, 76-75, On “Senior Day”

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Senior Kevin Kalu poured in a career-high 26 points while snagging nine rebounds and fellow classmate Otis Frazier III registered a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), but the UTEP men’s basketball team was held off by Middle Tennessee in overtime, 76-75, on “Senior Day” at the Don Haskins Center Saturday afternoon.

The Miners (17-12, 7-9 CUSA) led for nearly 35 minutes of action, including being up by six (66-60) with 3:27 remaining in regulation. The Blue Raiders (20-9, 11-5 CUSA) hit two big 3-pointers to tie the tilt. Frazier III’s shot to win it in the waning seconds dropped out, sending the game to OT.

UTEP went back out by four (74-70) with 2:05 remaining in the extra period. The edge was one (75-74) after a David Terrell free throw. MT jumped back into the lead with a driving layup from Kamari Lands with five seconds left. After a missed free throw, UTEP called time out to draw up a potential game-winning play. The Miners raced up the court and got it Kalu, but his jumper in the paint was blocked and time expired. MT closed the contest on a 7-1 surge, handing UTEP its first loss on “Senior Day” in five years.

Kalu’s 26 are the most points by a Miner post player since Bryson Williams (28) against LA Tech on Jan. 22, 2021. He was 8-11 from the floor and 10-11 at the charity stripe, all of which set career highs. Ahamad Bynum also reached double figures in scoring, netting 16 points, which was aided by knocking down four 3-pointers. The junior also grabbed a career-high five boards.

Terrell Jr. dished out a game-high six assists while adding three rebounds and three points. Corey Camper Jr. pitched in seven points, four boards and three assists.

UTEP shot 42.4 percent (27-64) from the floor, but that was affected by finishing 5-23 (21.7 percent) on 3-pointers. MT had an off day as well, connecting on 38.5 percent (30-78) and 21.6 percent (8-37) on 3-pointers. The Blue Raiders had an edge in rebounding (48-42).

Essam Mostafa (16 points, 16 rebounds) keyed the charge for the visitors.

“I just feel for our guys, and I’m so frustrated for them,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “I thought they gave it everything they had. (Middle Tennessee) just kept coming back. They hit big shots. Give them credit, they made some good plays. We made some really good plays too. I thought it was a good college basketball game. We’ve just got to get to the finish line.”

After a quick 4-0 start from the visitors, the Miners locked in defensively. The result was MT going 6-24 from the floor out of the gates, including the two early buckets, on the way to bolting out to a 10-point lead (24-14) 13 minutes into the contest.

Fittingly, the seniors Kalu and Frazier III got things going offensively for the Miners. Bynum then buried a 3-pointer, which pulled UTEP all square at 7, but it was just getting started. A 6-1 push sent UTEP out by five (13-8), with Devon Barnes losing a defender on a pump fake before knocking down the baseline jumper.

After MT got a bucket, Kalu’s And-1 pushed it to six. The Miners kept working, with another score from Barnes and a reverse scoop layup by Frazier III put a bow on the strong beginning to the affair

The Blue Raiders started to get going, using an 8-2 counter to creep within four (26-22, 4:50, 1H). It was back-and-forth over the next couple of minutes. After Bynum knocked down a jumper to put UTEP up five (33-28), the visitors hit a late 3-pointer to trim the Orange and Blue’s advantage to two (33-31) at the break.

Kalu slammed home an alley-oop on the opening possession of the second half, with the lob from Camper Jr. The Blue Raiders got a dunk on their next trip down the court, as the two teams went back and forth. It remained a two-point differential (40-38) before UTEP ripped off five straight points in 53 seconds. Kalu hooked home a shot in the paint, which was followed by a Bynum triple.  The burst forced a timeout from MT, but UTEP got a stop and another dunk by Kalu to stretch its lead to nine (47-38, 15:54, 2H).

After the Blue Raiders whittled it to five, Kalu went to work and banked home a shot over Mostafa. It was back down to five (53-48), but Camper was pure on a transition 3-pointer to extend it back to eight. MT scored on the next trip, but a steal by Bynum led to a breakout for Camper Jr. as the visitors called timeout again. UTEP got another stop and two Kalu free throws reinstated a double-digit cushion.

MT drained a long 3-pointer and then split a pair of free throws to inch within six, but Frazier III knocked down two clutch tosses. A Bynum driving layup was sandwiched by two long 3-pointers from Middle Tennessee, which cut UTEP’s cushion to four (64-60, 3:42, 2H). Frazier III found Kalu on a cut for a dunk out of the break, as his career day continued.

MT refused to quit, however, draining back-to-back treys to erase UTEP’s edge and tie the tilt at 66 (1:23, 2H). Neither team scored the rest of the way, with Frazier III’s chance to win it dropping out as the tilt headed to overtime.

The Blue Raiders struck first in OT with a score. The Miners scored the next four points, with a dunk by Kalu coming in-between two UTEP free throws. MT evened it at 70 following two makes at the charity stripe, but Kalu knocked down two tosses at the other end to reinstate the narrow edge (72-70, 2:34, OT).

UTEP got a stop and Frazier III raced down the court for the score, with the Blue Raiders calling timeout. MT answered with four straight points to pull even at 74. After Terrell Jr. split two free throws, MT jumped ahead with a driving layup with 5.1 seconds to play. Kalu’s potential winner didn’t go, as the Blue Raiders escaped with the triumph.

UTEP will open the final road trip of the regular season when it plays at Sam Houston at 5:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. CT Thursday. Jon Teicher (44th year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso, with audio airing on the UTEP Miners app as well. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). 

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