UTEP Rallies Past Chicago State, 74-69 to snap two-game losing streak
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The UTEP men’s basketball team shot 52.0 percent from the floor and forced 27 turnovers on the way to a hard-fought 74-69 victory against Chicago State at the Don Haskins Center Sunday.
There were nine ties and 15 lead changes, with the Miners (9-7) going ahead for good against the Cougars (7-15) on a lay-up from freshman David Terrell Jr. with 1:40 left in regulation. Terrell Jr. finished with eight points while Tae Hardy (13 points), Corey Camper Jr. (11 points), Trey Horton III (career-high 11 points) and Zid Powell (10 points) all reached double figures in scoring.
UTEP was down by four (65-61, 4:10, 2H) before tallying the next five points in the contest to surge into the lead. Chicago State still had a chance to tie it late, but a 3-point attempt with four seconds remaining from Tristan Arnead rimmed out. Camper Jr. came up with the rebound, and after he was fouled, hit two free throws to ice the contest.
The Miners racked up 32 points in the paint, in addition to getting 12 on the break thanks to recording 15 steals. It marked the 10th time this season that they reached double figures for thefts. UTEP also hit seven 3-pointers, its most against a Division I opponent this year.
Jahsea Corbett (23 points) and Noble Crawford (18 points) accounted for 41 of the squad’s 69 points in the contest. The Cougars nailed 55.6 from the floor and 45.5 percent (5-11) from 3-point range and won the boards (29-21), but they were done in by the 27 giveaways.
“A lot of credit to Chicago State, we knew that they were a good team,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “They beat Northwestern, a top-25 team, a few weeks ago and had Kansas State on the ropes a week. Credit to their team and coach. To our guys, I credit them for finding a way to win the game late. When you’ve lost a couple of tough ones, you could see the confidence was lacking, just the belief, and we had some guys that stepped up. They went and made some plays. I’m just happy for our guys. That was a big win for us.”
After Chicago State took a 5-2 lead three minutes into the game, the Miners’ defense turned up the heat. They held the Cougars to without a field goal for more than six minutes en route to staking a 9-6 edge. The visitors countered with five straight points to move ahead by two (11-9, 11:10, 1H).
It was back-and-forth over the next several minutes with three lead changes and six ties before Hardy drained a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Miners up by three (27-24, 4:49, 1H). It was his second triple of the half and prompted a timeout from CSU.
UTEP continued to maintain a modest lead over the remainder of the stanza before a 3-pointer from Horton III, his second of the period, afforded the home side a five-point edge (37-32) heading into the locker room.
The Cougars ripped off seven unanswered to start the second half to regain the advantage at 39-37. Back-to-back scores for Kevin Kalu, including a dunk, propelled the home side back in front. After another stop, Terrell Jr. fed Camper Jr. for a one-hand flush to nudge the differential to four (43-39) heading to the first media timeout of the second half.
UTEP was still up by four (45-41) before the visitors struck back in the form of 12-3 run to flip the scoreboard at 53-48 (12:25, 2H). A Terrell Jr. free throw stopped the sequence. The Miners harassed the Cougars into four consecutive turnovers to fuel a 6-0 run, including a triple by Powell, to vault up by one (54-53, 9:07, 2H).
CSU halted it with a lay-up before Horton III buried a corner three. That was answered with consecutive triples from the Cougars, allowing them to jump out by four (61-57, 7:50, 2H). An old-fashioned 3-point play from Otis Frazier III stopped the sequence and brought the Miners within one (61-60). CSU inched it back to four (65-61, 4:10, 2H), but three consecutive free throws by Powell on two separate possessions once again made it a one-point affair (65-64, 2:04, 2H).
UTEP then forced another turnover and Terrell Jr. banked home a lay-up. Camper Jr. then used quick hands for a steal and went coast-to-coast for the score. It capped a 7-0 run but more importantly provided the Orange and Blue with a 3-point edge (68-65, 1:21, 2H). CSU got two free throws at the other end, which were answered by a pair from Hardy, once again giving UTEP a three-point lead (70-67, 49 seconds, 2H).
CSU drained a long two pointer to make it a one-point game, but Powell connected on a pair of free throws with 12.4 seconds left after the visitors were forced to foul with the shot clock off. Tristan Arnead’s potential tying 3-pointer rimmed out, and Camper Jr. iced the contest with two free throws.
Up next, UTEP heads to the "Sunshine State" to battle FIU in its second straight road game to christen CUSA Play at 4 p.m. MT/6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The contest will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso and streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
