UTEP men snap 3-game losing streak

The UTEP men’s basketball team is back in the win column.

The Miners broke open a close game late in the first half and rolled to a 9062 victory against Division II Western New Mexico on Monday at the Don Haskins Center.

The Miners are 6-3 on the season and head coach Joe Golding won his 198th career game.

Guard Zid Powell led four Miners in double figures with 14 points and fellow guard Tae Hardy added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

In all, 13 Miners scored in the game, including former Coronado standout Garrett Levesque, who scored two points, had three rebounds and two assists in nearly 10 minutes. The Miners made 14 of 18 free throws, 10 of 29 from 3-point range and outrebounded WNMU, 51-29. Otis Frazier led the Miners with 10 rebounds.

Del Valle High School graduate and freshman forward Donovan Black led the Mustangs with 12 points and added five rebounds in nearly 23 minutes on the court. He made his third straight start for WNMU.

Miners with strong finish in first half

The Miners took a 42-31 lead at halftime, finishing the half on a 13-4 run. Nine players scored for the Miners, led by Frazier III, who scored 11 points. He made 3 of 4 from the free throw line and 2 of 3 from 3-point range. The Miners made 7 of 8 from the free throw line and outrebounded the Mustangs 28-16.

Black started and scored five points, pulled down three rebounds and had two assists for WNMU.

UTEP outscored WNMU 18-4 in the pant and 15-1 on fast-break points.

What the winning coach said

“Our ball movement was better, we shared the ball better,” UTEP coach Joe Golding said. “It was a good night for us. You can’t have growth without adversity and conflict. I’m proud of our guys, the last three days of practice

were good. We had guys step up in terms of leadership and our culture is getting better.”

What the players said

“We did what we were supposed to do. We took a step in the right direction,” Powell said. “We got back to the basics. We worked on our defense and moved the ball more. We got different people involved in the game. I want to give a shout out to our freshman guard Trey Horton, he came in and played well with five points and four rebounds. His shooting will come around but his effort was big for us and it was good to see him play.

Up Next

The Miners hit the road to take on Oregon at 7 p.m. Saturday.