EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A poor shooting day sunk the UTEP men’s basketball team in its regular-season finale.
The Miners fell 76-58 to Louisiana Tech on Saturday afternoon, March 8 in Ruston, Louisiana.
The Miners (17-14, 7-11 CUSA) hung close during the first half, trailing the host Bulldogs by just four, 16-12, 12 minutes into the contest.
LA Tech, however, found another gear and unleased a 14-4 run to pull ahead by 14 with about 4 minutes left in the half.
At the break, UTEP trailed 34-22. Louisiana Tech opened the second half with a big surge and opened up its lead to 46-26 with 15 minutes left in regulation.
UTEP was unable to get any closer than 16 the rest of the way.
UTEP was hindered by a tough shooting day, finishing at 31.7 percent (19 for 60). That included going 3 for 21 from 3-point distance (14.3 percent). LA Tech connected on 44.4 percent (24-54), and it was a sizzling 70.6 percent (12-17) from 3-point range.
On the positive side, the Miners recorded 12 steals, including three from Otis Frazier III. That allowed him to join Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway as the only players in school history with at least 70 steals in multiple seasons.
It marked UTEP’s 13th game this season with 10-plus takeaways.
KJ Thomas led the way by producing a career-best 12 points. He made all four of his shots from the floor while also going 4-4 at the line. Devon Barnes reached double figures in scoring for the second straight contest, tallying 11 points. Frazier III added seven points, to go along with his three steals. Elijah Jones netted five points while equaling his career best in both rebounds (six) and blocked shots (three). Fellow big man Kevin Kalu pitched in six points.
Al Green poured in 20 points, including nailing 6-7 from beyond-the-arc, to pace a trio of Bulldogs in double figures.
“Our offense was the problem. We had so many (possessions with) one pass, and we were just jacking up shots,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “You talk about the first 30 minutes of the game. There was just a lot of one-on-one play, and you can’t win that way. You can’t quit. You’ve got to keep fighting.”
The Miners will now turn their attention to the 2025 Conference USA tournament. UTEP is the No. 8 seed and will lock up with No. 9 seed Sam Houston in the first round at 4:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 11.
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