UTEP men edged out by Bradley in SoCal championship game
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California — The UTEP men’s basketball team came out on the losing side of things in a close contested game against Bradley in the SoCal championship game at ‘The Pavilion’ at Jserra on Wednesday.
UTEP falls to Bradley in a back and forth contest in the SoCal Challenge Championship game. UTEP suffers its first loss of the 2023 season and now sits with a 5-1 overall record. https://t.co/btLUnrao3Z
— Sam Guzman (@SamGuzmanTV) November 23, 2023
The game got off to a very competitive start. UTEP managed to take its biggest lead of the game, 12-9, at the 11:36 mark of the first half after a long Zid Powell three-point shot.
Bradley retook the lead very quickly and held onto it for the rest of the half. There was a big momentum swing went in the favor of Bradley after two UTEP turnovers led to a pair of dunks by Bradley in the last 15 seconds of the first half.
Bradley went up 37-26 over UTEP into the locker rooms at halftime.
As big as UTEP’s win over Cal was, per KenPom Bradley is actually the best team the Miners have faced so far (ranked 81 in the nation). UTEP getting a tough test through 1 half and Bradley has looked pretty good. https://t.co/ryq4U4SRpN
— Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaverTV) November 23, 2023
UTEP came out the second half on fire and started it off with a 11-2 run to make it a two-point game, 39-37, with 12:44 left to play in the game.
Bradley countered back and built back its lead to up as much as nine points, 57-48, with 02:57 left in the game. UTEP kept it a close game, got it down to a two-point deficit again with four seconds left in the game, but Bradley’s free throw making ability helped them secure a 63-59 win in the SoCal championship game.
UTEP suffered its first loss of the 2023 season. The Miners still sit with a good 5-1 overall record as they are set to stay in California for one more game this weekend. Up next, UTEP will take on West Coast Conference member LMU at the Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, Nov. 25.
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