UTEP Men’s Basketball Falls At LMU, 67-47
LOS ANGELES, California (KVIA) -- The UTEP men’s basketball team was upended at LMU, 67-47, Saturday afternoon. It marked the third game in a span of six day for the Miners (5-2), who led early, before a run by the Lions (4-3) put them in control of the contest.
Tae Hardy hit double figures in scoring (12 points) for the seventh time in as many games on the year while Zid Powell added nine points and Calvin Solomon pitched in seven points.
UTEP was hindered by an off shooting night, finishing at 30.2 percent (16-53) from the floor. That included going 2-17 (11.8 percent) from beyond-the-arc. LMU wasn’t that much better, being held to 38.2 (21-55) percent overall and 26.9 percent (7-26) on 3-pointers.
UTEP committed only 14 turnovers, but LMU managed to convert them into 22 points. The Lions also had a 41-32 advantage at the boards, which helped it secure a 14-4 advantage in second-chance points.
The Miners’ leading rebounder, Kevin Kalu, once again led the way on the boards with seven caroms while Powell secured six rebounds. Eight different Miners registered one steal, with UTEP continuing its season-opening streak of at least eight thefts in every contest.
LMU was paced by Justin Wright’s 20 points.
The Orange and Blue jumped to an early 7-4 lead (15:29, 1H) before the home side got cooking. LMU ripped off a game-altering 16-2 surge over the next six minutes to suddenly vault ahead by double digits (20-9, 9:26 1H).
It was a 13-point deficit (37-24) at the break, and the Lions led by 16 with 16 minutes to play in regulation. The Miners made one final push to get back in the game, tallying seven straight points to cut the differential to single digits (48-39) with 11:21 left. Hardy started it with a driving lay-up, which was followed by two free throws from Solomon.
Corey Camper Jr. then came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for the flush. After one more stop, Powell split a pair of free throws to cap the surge. Much to the chagrin of the Miner faithful, LMU struck back in the form of another 16-2 run over the next eight minutes to wipe away any aspirations of a comeback.
UTEP returns home for a mini two-game homestand, playing host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday (Nov. 29) before facing Western New Mexico at 7 p.m. MT on Dec. 4. Both contests will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso and streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Tickets are available by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or by calling (915) 747-UTEP.
