First-place Liberty holds off UTEP, 80-69
LYNCHBURG, Virginia - Elijah Jones (21 points) and Caleb Blackwell (career-high 20 points) both put up 20+ points while Kaseem Watson (12 points) also reached double figures in scoring, but league-leading Liberty held off the UTEP men’s basketball team, 80-69, inside Liberty Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Miners (6-12, 2-5 CUSA) showed plenty of fight, closing the opening frame on a 16-2 surge to climb within three (41-38) at the break.
UTEP eventually pulled even at 49 after Blackwell bombed home a 3-pointer from way downtown.
The deficit was just two (53-51) before the Flames (15-3, 7-0 CUSA) put together a 15-3 run to create some separation, and this time the Orange and Blue were unable to recover.
UTEP enjoyed quite the shooting day by connecting on 54.0 percent (27-50), including a season-best 11 triples (11-23, season-high 47.8 percent), but it wasn’t enough to hand LU its first home or conference loss of the year.
The Orange and Blue set campaign lows for free throws made and attempted (2-4) and committed 13 turnovers that led to 19 LU points. There were 17 fouls in the game, with 10 against the visitors.
Blackwell dished out a career-best matching seven assists while KJ Thomas netted six points to go along with four helpers.
UTEP was credited with an assist on 15 of its 28 field goals. Jones keyed the charge on the boards with a game-high seven rebounds, but the Flames managed to hold a slight edge in that department (23-21).
LU shot 59.3 percent (32-54), aided by getting to the paint early and often (46-22 advantage) with layups.
The Miners held the Flames to 7-20 from distance (35.0) but they compensated for that in other areas.
LU finished 9-11 (81.8 percent) at the charity stripe. Brett Decker and Zach Cleveland each went off for 20 points to pace a quartet of LU players in double figures for scoring.
“I thought it was very entertaining. First of all, respect to them. They’ve got a terrific team, a veteran team that is really, really good. They had a good night. They were in rhythm. They were moving it” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “They threw a punch like they always do in the first half. We were able to withstand it. Caleb (Blackwell) hit some big shots. You’ve got to have some of that when you play here. It kept us in the game in the first half. I thought we came out the first five or six minutes of the second half and withstood another run, kept the game right there. Then we went four minutes without scoring. You can’t do that against Liberty, they’re going to score the basketball. When you have those spells like that against them, you put your backs against the wall.”
Liberty got on the board first with a layup, but Jones buried a triple to give the Miners a one-point edge.
The Flames countered with six straight to put the Orange and Blue down by five (8-3, 16:35, 1H).
Thomas ended the run with a driving layup of his own.
The deficit moved back to five (10-5) before Watson filled up a 3-pointer.
After LU answered with a trey of its own, a strong take to the hoop by West Jr. and a jumper over the defender from Watson brought the Miners within one (13-12, 13:38, 1H).
LU punched back with a 7-2 surge as UTEP slipped behind by six (20-14), but Jones stopped things momentarily with a driving layup that that he banked home. Jones answered a score from Liberty with another take to the hoop only to have the Flames knock down three straight 3-pointers. Thomas halted the run, but UTEP still trailed by 11 (31-20, 6:03, 1H) after his layup.
The home side kept coming, stretching the differential to 17 (39-22) with three minutes to play in the first half, but UTEP dug deep and fought back. The Miners closed the half on a 16-2 surge to whittle the margin all the way down to three (41-38) heading into halftime.
Blackwell started things off with a triple, which was followed by Jones going to the hole. Cassius Brooks then came up with the steal and went coast-to-coast for the score. Another turnover, this time on a steal from Watson, led to a corner triple for Blackwell. LU nailed a 3-pointer to stop the 10-0 run. Blackwell got hot, however, drilling a pair of treys in the final minute to cut things put the finishing touches on the half-closing run. The latter was a stepback over the defender as time expired.
Both sides came out firing to start the second half. West Jr. and Watson filled up jumpers to let the Orange and Blue creep within one (43-42, 18:29, 2H). After it went back to three, Blackwell connected on a jumper. The Flames got a layup before West Jr. hit a jumper from the free throw line. Another layup, this one on an offensive rebound, was countered by a basket by Jones.
LU was up by three (49-46, 16:28, 2H) before Blackwell drained a 3-poitner from way beyond the arc to tie the tilt. The home used a pair of free throws and a layup to move out by four. Jones stopped things with a turnaround jumper only, but the Flames responded.
It came in the form of a 15-3 surge to force Golding to ask for a timeout, with the Miners down by 14 (68-54) with nine minutes remaining in regulation. Trey Horton III buried a 3-pointer out of the break to stop the surge. After UTEP got a stop, Jones split a pair of attempts at the free throw line to make it a 10-point game (68-58, 7:59, 2H).
The Miners kept battling down the stretch, but they were unable to string together another big run as LU held on for the triumph.
UTEP returns to the 915 to open a four-game homestand. The Miners will begin things vs. FIU at 7 p.m. MT on Thursday before locking up with Missouri State at 2 p.m. MT on Jan. 24. They will then wrap it up against LA Tech (7 p.m. MT, 1/28) and vs. Delaware (7 p.m., 1/31).
Overall, UTEP has eight home games left in the season, and there are special pricing plans in place. Fans can purchase all eight remaining home games and sit anywhere in the arena for just $73.20 ($9.15 per game). Fans also have the option to purchase all five remaining Saturday home games and sit anywhere in the arena for just $60. Every single-game premium-priced ticket (over $20) will be $20 for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. The lowest ticket price continues to be just $9.15.
Jon Teicher (45th year) and Steve Yellen (23rd year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso for all four contests. They will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required), with Andy Morganand former Miner assistant coach Bobby Braswell describing the action.
