UTEP Men’s Basketball Clipped By WKU, 68-56, Saturday Afternoon
EL PASO, Texas -- Jamal West Jr. netted 15 points while LA Hayes came off the bench to tally a career-high 13 points, but the UTEP men’s basketball team was upended, 68-56, by WKU at the Don Haskins Center in front of a season-best 4,392 fans Saturday afternoon.
The Miners (5-11, 1-4 CUSA) carried a four-point lead (35-31) into the locker room, but the Hilltoppers (10-6, 3-2 CUSA) used a big second half to down the Orange and Blue. A key stretch was when UTEP was in front by five (41-36) only to have WKU unleash a game-changing 15-4 run to vault ahead at 51-45 (11:20, 2H). UTEP managed to pull even at 51-51 but the Toppers had a response to account for the eighth and final lead change. The contest also featured 10 ties.
The Miners had a solid shooting effort in the first frame before cooling off after the break to finish at 32.1 percent (17-53), including 5-22 (22.7 percent) on 3-pointers. Another factor was an uncharacteristic day with ball security. UTEP committed 15, including 12 in the second half. Those giveaways led to 20 points by the visitors, with 16 coming in the final 20 minutes of action.
WKU connected on 39.1 percent (25-64) of its shots and was held to 26.3 percent (5-19) from distance. It was able to make up for some of those misses with 17 offensive boards. UTEP had 10 offensive rebounds of its own, but it still came up short on the battle on the glass (44-37).
Elijah Jones buoyed West Jr. and Hayes with nine points while Kaseem Watson contributed seven points and a team-best eight boards. KJ Thomas did a bit of everything, tallying seven points, a game-best six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Hayes also was involved defensively with three thefts.
“We’re 1-4 (in CUSA) and you don’t want to lose at home. This one is going to hurt,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “You’ve got to go try to steal one on the road. We’ll regroup, get ready for Delaware. This team has been pretty resilient about fighting, showing up. To have success, you’ve got to play the game the right way. The first half we had three turnovers. We played the right way and kept them out of transition. But when you turn the ball over 12 times (in a half) against WKU, you’re not going to have success.”
WKU hit a triple on its first trip, which was countered by three free throws by Thomas after he was fouled from beyond-the-arc. After back-to-back scores for the Toppers, Jones nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one (7-6, 17:57, 1H). The Miners took their first lead of the game (9-7) with a Cassius Brooks trey, making it a 6-0 run in the blink of an eye. WKU stopped it courtesy of an old-fashioned 3-point play before Thomas filled up another trey for the Orange and Blue.
A mini shooting slump allowed the visitors to sneak in front by a pair (15-13) before Watson put an end to that with a sweet stroke on a 3-pointer. That was the first of three straight lead changes, but West Jr. refused to let it be four in row with a high-flying rejection.
The contest was tied at 19 when Hayes buried a triple and was fouled. He connected on the free throw to complete the rare four-point play. The Toppers eventually evened things up at 25. UTEP tallied the next four points, including an athletic lay-up by Hayes off a tipped pass. After four straight from WKU, Hayes blitzed to the hoop for a score and West Jr. forced home a shot in the paint.
The Toppers got a bucket on their next trip. Caleb Blackwell used a shooter’s touch to get the friendly bounce right before time expired, allowing the Miners to enter the locker room with the lead (35-31).
UTEP answered a WKU 3-pointer with a powerful one-hand dunk by West Jr. after Thomas fired the pass through the defense early in the second half. After a stop, West Jr. filled up a baseline jumper, nudging the differential to five (39-34, 18:23, 2H).
It was still a five-point differential (41-36) before two missed free throws opened the door for the Toppers. WKU took advantage with an old-fashioned three-point play and a corner trey to retake the lead. Watson floated home a hook shot on the next possession, letting UTEP go back in front by one (43-42, 15:51, 1H).
Four straight turnovers from the home side allowed WKU to sneak out by three (46-43). Blackwell, however, made a fantastic play in transition with a blocked shot. UTEP then sent it ahead to Hayes, who scored to cut the margin to one (46-45). The next six points went to the Toppers, with the run for the visitors at 15-4 to suddenly send the Orange and Blue down by six (51-45, 11:18, 2H).
UTEP forced a turnover that lead to a breakaway dunk for West Jr. After a stop, Jones sank two free throws to cut the deficit to a pair (51-49, 9:58, 2H). The push hit 6-0 after a stop and score from Jones, knotting the tilt at 51 (8:43, 2H).
WKU answered with five in a row before two free throws by Hayes trimmed the difference to three (56-53, 5:29, 2H). The visitors split a pair of free throws, pushing its lead to four (57-53). A couple of looks didn’t drop for UTEP, but stops at the other end kept it in the game. Thomas went 1-2 at the stripe out of a timeout, making it a one-possession game (57-54, 3:06, 2H) again.
After the Toppers got an offensive putback and score, West Jr. made both tosses on the one-and-one, letting UTEP creep within three (59-56, 2:30, 2H). It was stretched back to five (61-56) on an offensive dunk off a misfire, and this time, the Miners were unable to recover as WKU pulled away down the stretch.
UTEP heads to the Eastern Time Zone for a pair of matchups. Up first, the Miners will lock up at first-year league member Delaware at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET on Thursday. UTEP will conclude the roadswing at defending regular-season and tournament champion Liberty at 1 p.m. MT/3 p.m. ET on Jan. 17. Jon Teicher (45th year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners’ App for both games. Each contest will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
