UTEP loses third straight following loss at Seattle, 75-68
SEATTLE, Washington - Jamal West Jr. posted a monstrous double-double (21 points, 14 rebounds) while Elijah Jones (18 points) got going as well, but the UTEP men’s basketball team was clipped at West Coast Conference member Seattle U, 75-68, Sunday evening.
The Miners (3-5) played well throughout the tilt that featured 11 ties and nine lead changes.
They led the Redhawks (7-2) by two (65-63) with 4:41 remaining in regulation, but the home side peeled off eight in a row to vault into the lead. Jones drilled a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game (71-68,1:38, 2H), but SU managed to hold on.
UTEP operated well offensively, connecting on 47.4 percent (27-57) from the floor and turning it over only 13 times. The Miners controlled paint (36-26), in addition to holding advantages for fastbreak points (12-3) and points off turnovers (18-16).
UTEP was 5-19 on distance (26.3 percent) and 9-13 (69.2) from the charity stripe.
Trey Horton III contributed nine points, aided by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, in his first start of the season. Kaseem Watson and KJ Thomas added seven and five points, respectively.
SU finished at 47.1 percent (24-51) from the floor and with three fewer shots made than the Orange and Blue, but it overcame that by nailing 10-23 (43.5 percent) from 3-point range and 17-24 (70.8 percent) at the line. Brayden Maldonado was the difference, erupting for 28 points (9-13 FG, 5-9 3PT, 5-5 FT) while Will Heimbrodt (13 points) and Austin Maurer (11 points) also reached double figures.
UTEP also battled on the boards, keeping it competitive (31-29, SU). West Jr. had nearly half (14 of 29) of the Miners’ boards, in addition to posting a pair of And-1s.
“I was proud of our effort. We competed tonight and obviously executed some things better offensively,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “We spent a lot of time on that this week. We did a good job of moving the basketball. Jamal (West Jr.) was terrific. He was finishing tough, got seven offensive rebounds and 14 total. He gave us a great effort. There were some good things. Overall, I thought our guys competed. I can take that effort and the toughness.”
The Miners came out firing, hitting four of their first five shots on the way to staking an 8-5 edge three minutes into the contest. After Seattle U tied the tilt at 8-8 and again at 10-10, UTEP ripped off eight straight.
Kaseem Watson was the catalyst, accounting for six of the eight points during the stretch. He started it off by filling up consecutive jump shots. The Miners then forced a turnover, which led to a breakaway dunk from Bobby Montgomery Jr. Kaseem Watson put the finishing touches on it the run by blowing past his defender for a layup, forcing a timeout by the Redhawks with the Orange and Blue holding an eight-point advantage (18-10, 11:40, 1H).
The differential was seven (20-13, 8:38, 1H) after West Jr. banked home a layup, but Seattle U struck back with a 9-2 blitz to pull even at 22 with six minutes left in the opening frame. Jones broke the deadlock with a 3-pointer only to have Maldonado produce a mini 5-0 push and put the Miners down by a pair (27-25, 4:46, 1H).
After buckets from each side, Horton III was pure on a 3-pointer from the left wing to allow UTEP to snag a one-point cushion (31-30, 3:28, 1H). SU tallied the final seven points of the frame, and the Miners went into the locker room trailing by six (37-31).
Jones pump faked past his defender and buried the pull-up jumper to make it a four-point contest (37-33) at the onset of the second half. After a trey from Seattle U, Horton III drained his own triple to answer it. The deficit was five (43-38) before an old-fashioned 3-point play by West Jr. Caleb Blackwell had a chance at his own And-1 on the next trip down the court, but the free throw wouldn’t fall.
The Orange and Blue were down six (52-46) when West Jr. went to work and finished with another And-1 to slice the margin in half (52-49, 14:18, 2H). SU sank a trey on its next trip, but another old-fashioned 3-point play from West Jr. made it a one-possession game (52-49). Two tosses at the free-throw line allowed the Redhawks to nudge the differential to five (54-49) heading to the 12-minute media timeout.
West Jr. put his defender on skates and scored easily on the next trip. After a defensive stop, he fed it to Thomas for a game-tying 3-pointer that went down and capped a mini 5-0 run. Following a free throw from the home side, West Jr. beat the shot clock with a turnaround jumper in the paint. The game was tied again (57-57) before Jones blew past his defender for the driving layup at the rim.
SU used points at the line its next two trips, but back-to-back layups from Jones kept UTEP up three (61-58). The Redhawks evened the tilt with a corner 3-pointer before a pair of free throws from Jones. After two tosses at the free-throw line, Thomas made a backdoor cut to put the Miners up by two (65-63, 4:41, 2H).
A turnover from the Orange and Blue sparked an eventual 8-0 surge for Seattle U. Jones stopped the sequence with a 3-pointer and UTEP down by three (71-68, 1:38, 2H), but the damage had been done.
UTEP has nearly a week off playing at future Mountain West opponent Hawaii at 7 p.m. HT/10 p.m. MT on Saturday.
The Rainbow Warriors are off to a strong start at 7-2 on the season, including a stout 7-1 at home. It will be streamed on ESPN+ and Jon Teicher (45th year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners’ App.
