Editor’s Note: This is not the most recent UTEP men’s basketball game.
In a nail-biting game against the Miners (17-7, 7-4 CUSA) and the Panthers (8-17, 2-10), UTEP men’s basketball secured the victory against Florida International University Thursday night. The game included many strengths from the Miners that ultimately aided their win.
Senior forward Kevin Kalu celebrated his 114th game on the team and lead the team in scoring with a pair of dunks and a 10-0 stretch. Senior forward Otis Frazier III marked his 15 consecutive contests with at least 10 points and earned 1,000 career points.
Sophomore guard David Terrell Jr. made seven assists, 12 points, two steals and six rebounds. This allowed Terrell to become the first player to make six assists in five consecutive contests since Malik Alvin during the 2006-07 campaign.
Junior guard Devon Barnes made three 3-pointers, a career-high six assists and three steals. Senior guard Corey Camper Jr., who has been recovering from an injury, scored seven points and three steals. Senior forward Derick Hamilton made eight points and three rebounds. Junior guard Ahamad Bynum also assisted the team with six points and contributions off the line.
Head Coach Joe Golding spoke about the talent and hustle of both teams, as well as the effective energy used in the later part of the game.
“I’ve just got so much respect for Head Coach [Jeremy] Ballard and their team,” Golding said. “The last 10 minutes were terrific, and I just thought the first 30 minutes defensively we weren’t us. We get four guys in double figures, 22 assists the most we’ve had all year against a Division 1 opponent. They only scored 63 points, and we out-rebounded them. They’re the best offensive rebounding team in our league.”
At the start of the game, the Panthers took the early edge, prompting a timeout from Golding early on. Frazier and Terrell worked together fast after to not only throw some points on the scoreboard, but for Terrell to set up Frazier with a layup getting him to his 1,000 career points. Soon the score was 12-8, and the Miners were able to get past early game jitters to get a mini 5-0 score run helping them secure the lead at 16-14.
Soon the score would be 20-16, but the Panthers would go on a 10 point straight run. But Kalu and Barnes would answer with helpful shots of their own.
The road up to halftime was filled with surprises including a 6-0 run from FIU, back-to-back scores from Hamilton, a key dunk made by sophomore forward Elijah Jones, a point surge from UTEP and a corner 3-pointer by Camper Jr.
Soon after some more scoring from both teams after the half, Frazier would make two free throws to tie the game at 44 out of the 16-minute media timeout. Soon the score would be 53-51 after much battle from both teams on the court.
After a steal and transition score from Frazier, the game would be tied for the 12 and final time. This sparked a much-needed fire for the team, initiating a 7-0-point surge.
Soon another surge would come from the Miners and after a split of a pair of three throws by Frazier, back-to-back dunks from Kalu and an alley-oop from half court by Barnes. This then secured the win for UTEP vs. FIU and cemented a winning score of 73-58.
The UTEP men’s basketball team returns back to the Don Haskins Center at 7 p.m. to head against Liberty University Feb. 15.
Catching Marginot is a contributor and can be reached at hcmarginot@miners.utep.edu.
