UTEP men's rally falls short at Western Kentucky, 74-69

Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times
·2 min read

The UTEP men's maddening inconsistency didn't solve itself on its latest road trip.

Western Kentucky went on an 11-point run early in the second half and held the Miners at arm's length the rest of the way in a 74-69 Hilltoppers win that marked UTEP's (4-8 in Conference USA, 11-12 overall) fourth-consecutive loss.

More:C-USA men's basketball standings

Shamar Givance
Shamar Givance

The Miners led by as much as 10 points in the first half when it was drilling 3-pointers, but that eventually dried up. After making 6-of-10 3-pointers in the first half, the nation's No. 350 team in 3-point percentage made 3-of-14 in the second. UTEP shot 41 percent from the field and hit its season average with 60 percent from the line on the afternoon.

"We didn't come out of halftime very good at all," coach Joe Golding said. "We were not good defensively. Same story, different day. We continued to fight.

"This was a brutal road trip, we knew that coming in."

UTEP was ahead 42-40 with 16:08 left in the game and had led most of the way to that point, but in the next four minutes they were 0-of-4 from the field with three turnovers while Western Kentucky was 5-of-9 with no turnovers. The Miners trailed 51-42 at the end of that drought.

The Miners got within 72-69 on a Tae Hardy 3-poniter with 18 seconds to play, the only time in the final 14 minutes they were within a possession, but WKU made a pair of free throws to close the scoring.

Shamar Givance led UTEP with 18 points, Otis Frazier scored 17 and Hardy had 15. Mario McKinney was benched after five first-half minutes and did not return in what Golding termed a "coach's decision."

Up next

UTEP hosts Charlotte on Thursday night as part of Black History Night. The Don Haskins Center tip is set for 7 p.m. It will be streamed on Stadium and carried on 600 ESPN El Paso.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP men's rally falls short in loss at Western Kentucky