EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — UTEP men’s basketball player David Terrell Jr. had his first career double-double, but it wasn’t enough for the Miners in a key Conference USA showdown Saturday, Feb. 1 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Miners ended up losing 71-68 to Middle Tennessee State in a back-and-forth game that saw seven lead changes and 11 ties.
Terrell finished with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead UTEP.
The Miners fell to 5-4 in CUSA and 15-7 overall. The Blue Raiders improved to 6-3 in CUSA and 15-7 overall.
The Miners outscored the Blue Raiders in points in the paint (40-34) and second-chance points (11-10) while being competitive on the boards (37-36, Middle Tennessee).
Both UTEP (28-64, 43.8 percent) and Middle Tennessee (26-55, 47.3 percent) shot similar overall percentages, in addition to nearly identical percentages from 3-point territory (UTEP, 7-18, 38.9 percent, MT, 8-20, 40 percent). Both teams took good care of the ball as well, with 10 turnovers by the Miners and 12 from the Blue Raiders. UTEP was 5-6 at the free-throw line while Middle Tennessee State finished 11-24.
It was tied at 68 with 3:10 to play following a score from Derick Hamilton (season-high 14 points) before defense ticked up a notch from each side. MT went ahead on a basket at 70-68 with 2:25 remaining, and it would hold on. UTEP had multiple chances to tie or take the lead, but shots wouldn’t go down.
The Miners’ final opportunity came after MT missed two free throws with 19 seconds left, and Terrell Jr. grabbed the rebound. Corey Camper Jr., who came off the bench to score 10 points, drove to the hole where MT collapsed and knocked the ball out of bounds. UTEP inbounded with 7 seconds left, but it was unable to get a shot off as Otis Frazier III (14 points, four assists, two steals) was swarmed in the paint before losing the ball. A free three at the other end with 0.9 seconds accounted for the final point in the contest.
Kevin Kalu (10 points, seven rebounds) joined Camper Jr., Frazier III, Hamilton and Terrell Jr., who played the entire 40 minutes, in double figures for scoring. Terrell Jr. became the first Miner to pace the squad in points, rebounds and assists since Zid Powell did so against Liberty in the quarterfinals of the 2024 CUSA Tournament.
UTEP will be idle for a week before concluding a stretch of three straight on the road when it plays at I-10 rival New Mexico State at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8.
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