The UTEP men’s basketball team did something it hasn’t often done in recent years. The Miners pulled out a tough win on the road at Cal-Santa Barbara, turning back a number of charges in an 79-76 victory against a Gauchos team that came in 4-0.
UTEP improved to 3-1 with its first victory of the year against a Division I team and came within a game of matching its road win total from last year, when it was 2-9 in true road contests. The Miners broke a nine-game non-conference road losing streak dating back to 2021.
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“I’m proud of our group. They really battled this week in practice,” coach Joe Golding said on the postgame radio show. “I told them in the locker room, that’s UTEP basketball. Defense travels. Toughness travels. I thought there was no question we were the tougher team.
“Our kids played extremely hard. I’m really, really proud of them. We got off to a better start and got some confidence.”
With a minute to go UCSB had a 22-10 advantage in free-throw attempts as David Terrell and Derek Hamilton fouled out while Kevin Kalu and Trey Horton finished with four fouls each, but UTEP powered through the adversity.
The Miners never trailed, were up 12-2 early and led by as many as 15 points in the first half. The only time in the last 37 minutes UCSB got within a possession was when it made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Devon Barnes had secured the game with a pair of free throws with four seconds to play.
The Miners held the Gauchos at bay until the final two minutes when they cut a nine-point lead to four, but UTEP took care of the ball and made a few free throws late, something else it hasn’t always done recently.
Barnes led UTEP with 23 points and Otis Frazier scored with 21 points with a key late block. Just as key was Ahamad Bynum, who made 5-of-7 3-pointers off the bench for 15 points. Corey Camper added 13 points.
The free throw shooting wasn’t great as UTEP finished 12-of-18 to UCSB’s 19-of-24, but Barnes made 6-of-8 down the stretch, which was just enough.
A big difference was turnovers, where UTEP was plus-8 (16-8) and won points off turnovers 20-9. That was key in a game where the teams were essentially even in shooting percentage (both teams were 49%).
UTEP was outrebounded 39-22 in what will be a theme all year, but the Miners were only outscored 12-9 on second-chance points, as they held the Gauchos to 11 offensive rebounds.
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Miners up 5 at half
UTEP dominated most of the first half, but a closing 10-0 run in the final 3:30 by UCSB got the Gauchos within 37-32 at the half.
The Miners missed their last four shots as their 15-point lead dropped to five, but they still managed an intermission lead after turning 11 first-half Santa Barbara turnovers into a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
While UTEP was outrebounded 18-9, the Miners won second-chance points in the first half 7-6.
Frazier had 13 points in the first 20 minutes while Barnes had 11 and Camper 8.
Up next
The Miners head to their first tournament of the year, the Ball Dawgs Classic in the Las Vegas area. They open it Monday against future Mountain West foe San Jose State. The 6:30 p.m. tip will be carried on 600 ESPN El Paso.
UTEP plays Long Beach State on Tuesday and UNC Greensboro on Wednesday.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Gritty UTEP men show toughness in road win against UC Santa Barbara
