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UTEP Athletics and the Miner Athletic Club have announced the dates for the 2018-19 Luncheon Series. The first two events will be held this fall at the El Paso Convention Center, with the final luncheon taking place in early February.

The football kick-off and hoops tip-off luncheons feature appearances by Dana Dimel, Rodney Terry, Kevin Baker and select student-athletes as they preview their upcoming seasons. 

The football signing day luncheon is hosted by the UTEP coaching staff and offers an in-depth look at the latest batch of incoming recruits. 

Football Kick-Off Luncheon: Tuesday, August 21st 12 p.m.

Hoops Tip-Off Luncheon: Tuesday, October 9th 12 p.m.

Football Signing Day Luncheon: Wednesday, February 6th TBA 

Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets early as these events have been sellouts in recent years. Luncheon tables of 10 are $350 and individual tickets are $35. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Miner Athletic Club at (915) 747-8759 or online by clicking here.

The deadline to purchase tickets is August 13th for the Kick-Off Luncheon and October 1st for the Tip-Off Luncheon.

Football and Basketball season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling (915) 747-6150 or by visiting the UTEP ticket website.

Arizona, Marquette, and long-time rivals New Mexico and NM State are featured opponents as first-year UTEP men’s basketball head coach Rodney Terry revealed the Miners’ 2018-19 hoops schedule on Monday.

The Miners will embark on the innovative Conference USA “smart” schedule, while playing 16 regular-season games in the Don Haskins Center during the upcoming season.

“We’re excited about announcing our 2018-19 schedule. Coach [Lamont] Smith has done a great job with our scheduling, and considering the timeframe that we had to work with when we started,” Terry said. “I feel like our staff has pieced together a very competitive schedule – one that will challenge us is our difficult conference slate. I feel like our conference will be very good from top to bottom. I feel like our non-conference schedule will help us prepare for conference play.”

Following a home exhibition against New Mexico Highlands on Oct. 30, Terry and his revamped squad will open the new era of UTEP basketball against UT Permian Basin on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Haskins Center.

The Miners will then play at NM State in the FirstLight Federal Credit Union Battle of I-10 on Nov. 9. The Miners and Aggies will meet in the Sun City on Nov. 28.

After its contest at Arizona (Nov. 14), UTEP will host Eastern New Mexico on Nov. 19. The remaining non-conference home matchups include Northwestern State (Dec. 1), UC Riverside (Dec. 16), and a pair of contests in the 57^th annual WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.

The Miners will open with Norfolk State on Dec. 21 and will play the winner of the East Tennessee State-Wyoming game on Dec. 22 in the oldest collegiate holiday basketball tournament in the nation.

Other non-conference road opponents include New Mexico (Nov. 24), and Marquette (Dec. 4).

“Our philosophy in scheduling a lot of times is we want to try and schedule games in non-conference that help us prepare for conference play,” Terry said. “Playing in a hostile environment on the road will help us when we get a chance to play in a very tough place when conference starts. We’ll be prepared and will be ready to go.”

The new C-USA schedule format will see the 14 teams play each other once and their travel partner twice in the first seven weeks of the conference season. Following the first 14 league games, teams will be placed into one of three groups based on their conference standing. The teams will be divided into two groups of five (1-5 and 6-10) and a group of four (11-14).

During the final three weeks, teams will play four games (two home/two away) within their respective grouping. Home and away matchups will be determined by a preset formula.

“We’re super excited about [Conference USA’s ‘smart scheduling’]. The direction of our league with Judy MacLeod, what she’s been able to do with her staff and the help of some outside sources to come up with a really good plan for us,” Terry said. “I think it’s something on the cutting edge and outside the box in terms of really trying to be creative. This will give ourselves a chance to be, not only successful in postseason play, but to protect some of the teams that are doing really well throughout the course of a season and into conference play to have a higher seed and maybe along as well, pick up a multi-bid type situation when we have other teams eligible for postseason play. It’s a great idea, great plan and one that we’re excited about because it gives [C-USA] a chance to be a multi-bid league.”

Once all 18 games have been completed, the top 12 teams based on the final league standings will be seeded in the conference tournament. Teams will be guaranteed seeding within their respective group. For example, if a program lands in the second group (6-10), it will seed no higher than sixth and no lower than 10th in the tournament field.

UTEP will open the league slate against travel partner UTSA in back-to-back contests, the first on Jan. 3 in San Antonio, while the Miners and Roadrunners will meet again on Jan. 5 in the Don Haskins Center.

UTEP’s other prescheduled home C-USA opponents are North Texas (Jan. 10), Rice (Jan. 12), Old Dominion (Jan. 24), Charlotte (Jan. 26), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 7) and FIU (Feb. 9).

The Miners’ remaining prescheduled road league games are at UAB (Jan. 17), Middle Tennessee (Jan. 19), Marshall (Jan. 31), WKU (Feb. 2), LA Tech (Feb. 14) and Southern Miss (Feb. 16).

With the newly formatted conference schedule, five open dates (Feb. 23, Feb. 27, March 2, March 6 and March 9) are on the slate for the four remaining games. The 2019 Conference USA Championship is scheduled for March 13-16 in Frisco, Texas.

After long months of travel and recruiting, first-year UTEP men’s basketball head coach Rodney Terry has solidified and officially announced the Miners’ 2018-19 hoops roster on Tuesday.

The revamped roster includes 18 total players, including four letterwinners returning from last season.

“We’re excited about announcing this class and this roster for this coming season,” Terry said. “My staff has done a great job identifying student-athletes who we think can come in here, represent this program and this community the right way, both on and off the court.”

The 2018-19 roster features senior Paul Thomas, junior Isiah Osborne and sophomores Evan Gilyard and Kobe Magee.

The 12 newcomers include Souley Boum, Ountae Campbell, Gilles Dekoninck, Jakobe Dill, Kaosi Ezeagu, Nigel Hawkins, Efe Odigie, Deon Stroud, Garrett Sullivan, Anthony Tarke, Tydus Verhoeven and Bryson Williams.

“We have several youngsters here on campus right now and a couple of other guys joining as the summer comes to a close,” Terry said. “But we’re excited about this group along with four returning scholarship players back from last year’s team with one senior being Paul Thomas. Along with the four scholarship players, we have two walk-ons as well. So, it gave us six returning guys from last year’s roster. We have 12 new additions, as eight of those guys are recruited guys we brought on board and four of those guys will be preferred walk-ons. So, our roster is set at 18 guys at the moment. Some guys will participate this year and there will be some guys who won’t participate with this year’s recruiting class.”

Freshman Brandon Averitt and redshirt junior Isaiah Rhyanes are the pair of walk-ons from last season’s roster.

Boum (San Francisco), Dekoninck (Fresno State), Tarke (NJIT), Verhoeven (Duquesne) and Williams (Fresno State) will sit out the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules, while Stroud, a freshman, will also sit out to focus on academics. The incoming freshmen include Dill, Ezeagu, Hawkins and Odigie.

“We feel like this recruiting class helps us this year and helps us moving into the future, in terms of our recruiting class for 2019 as well. We still have some needs, obviously, in 2019 that we need to cover for our program. But we feel like we got off to a great start,” Terry said.

RETURNEEES

#25 Brandon Averitt

Freshman | Guard | 6-1, 150

2017-18 SEASON: Worked with the scout team.

 

#3 Evan Gilyard

Sophomore | Guard | 5-10, 155

2017-18 SEASON: Started in 13 of 31 games played … averaged 9.1 points per game and 3.9 assists … set a UTEP record by connecting on 84.4 percent from the charity stripe … ranked seventh in Conference USA in free throw percentage … led the team in free throws made (81) and attempted (96) … also posted a team-best 19 charges drawn … averaged 10.6 points per game in C-USA play … concluded freshman campaign by scoring a career-high 29 points against UTSA on a season-high 36 minutes in the C-USA Tournament …  dished out a career-high six assists in his collegiate debut against Louisiana College … set career-bests in free throw attempts (10) and free throws made (nine) against FIU.

 

#15 Kobe Magee

Sophomore | Guard | 6-1, 150

2017-18 SEASON: Made 16 starts in 30 contests played …  averaged 4.5 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game and 1.7 assists per contest … led Conference USA in three-point field percentage for league games only (.531) … overall, shot 44.2 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc … ranked second in C-USA in three-point percentage for all games … assist/turnover ratio was a team-best 1.58 (52-33) and ranked second on the squad in assists (52) … made 31 three-point field goals, tied for fourth all-time among UTEP freshmen … put up career-high 16 points against New Mexico … played a season-high 37 minutes and scored 11 points against UTSA … dished out a season-best eight assists at LA Tech … registered a career-high five rebounds three times (vs. Lamar, vs. Howard, at UTSA).

 

#13 Isiah Osborne

Junior | Forward | 6-5, 180

2017-18 SEASON: Started in 19 of 29 contests played … led the Miners in scoring for Conference USA games (11.9 ppg), and overall ranked third on the squad at 9.4 points per contest … added 3.7 rebounds per game and registered a .328 three-point percentage and .627 free throw percentage … started 14 of the 17 C-USA contests that he appeared in … scored in double figures 12 times … led the team in scoring (17 points) in his UTEP debut against Louisiana College … scored season-high 25 points at LA Tech … put up 22 points and grabbed seven boards at Charlotte … paced UTEP with 21 points during a victory against FIU … recorded 20 points on a season-most five three-pointers at UTSA.

 

#54 Isaiah Rhyanes

Junior | Center | 6-9, 220

2017-18 SEASON: Worked with the scout team and did not see game action.

 

#1 Paul Thomas

Senior | Forward | 6-8, 210

2017-18 SEASON: Started in 29 of 31 games played … averaged 8.1 points per game with a .461 field goal percentage … tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.4 rpg) … ranked 19^th in Conference USA in rebounding … corralled six rebounds versus Boise State … made the first two three-pointers of his college career at NM State, part of a 14-point showing … added five rebounds versus the Aggies … tallied 11 points and five boards versus Washington State … led the Miners in points (16) and rebounds (eight) against Incarnate Word … collected 12 points and seven rebounds versus North Dakota State … posted eight points, six rebounds and a team-high three assists in the C-USA opener against North Texas … added nine points versus Florida Atlantic … scored 12 points at UTSA … posted seven points at UAB while leading the Miners in rebounds (six) and assists (three) … made both of his three-point attempts and scored 10 points versus WKU … led UTEP by securing seven rebounds against Marshall … picked up his first double-double of the season versus UTSA with 11 points and 11 boards … hit the game-winning jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining in an 87-86 triumph at Charlotte … registered his second consecutive double-double against the 49ers with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while adding four assists and two steals … posted 12 points and eight rebounds at Rice … tallied six rebounds versus UTSA in the C-USA Tournament.

 

 

NEWCOMERS

 

#0 Souley Boum

Sophomore | Guard | 6-3, 160

Oakland, Calif. (Oakland Tech HS/San Francisco)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Earned West Coast Conference All-Freshman team honors after ranking second on the squad and 25th in WCC in points per game (10.9) as a true freshman at San Francisco during the 2017-18 campaign … started in 12 of 36 contests played for the Dons … led USF with 121 free throws made, a USF freshman record … connected on a team-high 82.9 percent of his free throws, while ranking sixth in WCC … scored 394 points (second-most points by a freshman in USF history) … pulled down 95 rebounds, dished out 37 assists and recorded 19 steals … registered 20-plus points in seven different contests, including a season-high 26 on 8-of-11 shooting at Portland … matched season high in points with another 26-point effort against Colgate on 9-of-16 shooting (season high in made field goals) … in back-to-back games, combined to make 24-of-27 free throws (17 points on 12-14 FTs vs. UCSB, 16 points on 12-13 FTs vs. Eastern Washington) … added a season-high seven rebounds against Eastern Washington … dished out a season-high four assists against Pepperdine … opened collegiate career with a 22-point performance against Long Beach State (8-of-9 FTs) and followed with a 21-point effort in his second collegiate contest.

 

PERSONAL: Full name is Souleymone Boum … son of Mariam Diallo … born in Oakland, Calif. … nickname is Sou.

 

— Ountae Campbell

Sophomore | Guard/Forward | 6-4, 195

Los Angeles, Calif. (Fresno State)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Redshirted at Fresno State during the 2016-17 season … played in seven games as a freshman during the 2015-16 season with the Bulldogs … logged 12 minutes for an average of 1.7 minutes per game … posted two points and three rebounds … posted a dunk in the Bulldogs’ win over Pacific … played at Brentwood High School … named CIF All-Division-V Team … All-Alpha League first team … team captain … averaged 13.5 points per game, 3.5 steals per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest as a senior … played on the varsity squad during the sophomore (7.3 ppg) and junior (7.0 ppg) campaigns.

 

#33 Gilles Dekoninck

Sophomore | Forward | 6-6, 205

Diest, Belgium (Huntington Prep/Fresno State)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Played seven games during the 2017-18 season at Fresno State … scored two points on only shot attempt and tallied a rebound against Cal State Monterey Bay … made a free throw against UC Santa Cruz … registered a rebound against Colorado State … played three minutes twice (vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, vs. Cal State Monterey Bay) … while a senior at Huntington Prep, averaged 20 points, four assists and seven rebounds per contest … scored 16 points during a win against Teays Valley Christian White … was a member of the Belgium U18 National Team.

 

PERSONAL: Gilles Dekoninck is the son of Bert Dekoninck and Lucette Bokken … has one sister … born in Diest, Belgium.

 

#5 Jakobe Dill

Freshman | Guard | 6-3, 175

Beaumont, Texas (Beaumont Central High School/Heritage Academy [SC])

PRIOR TO UTEP: Ranked by TexasHoops.com as the no. 38 player in the Class of 2018 rankings … played at Heritage Academy (South Carolina) during the 2017-18 season … named team MVP after averaging 28 points per game during senior season … paced Heritage Academy with 17 points against Redemption Christian (NY) … went 9-of-11 from three-point range in just 24 minutes against Savannah Fall … scored 20 points (6-9 3pt.) versus West Ridge Academy … poured in 26 points against York Prep … named 2016-17 District 22-5A MVP while at Beaumont Central HS … named 2017 Beaumont Enterprise Super Gold Boys Player of the Year after averaging 24.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and three assists during the 2016-17 regular season … led Jaguars to a 13-1 record in 22-5A and a co-district title … scored a game-high 31 points against Class 4A no. 1-ranked Silsbee Tigers while with club team Houston Defenders, and scored 14 points against DC Blue Devils … All-District 22-5A second team in 2016.

 

PERSONAL: Full name is Jakobe Rashad Dill … son of Jay and Christie Dill … has four sisters … born in Dallas, Texas … cousin, Rashard Lewis, a two-time all-star who played in the NBA for 16 seasons (Seattle SuperSonics 1998-2007, Orlando Magic 2007-10, Washington Wizards 2011-12 and Miami Heat 2012-14) … nickname is Kobe.

 

#25 Kaosi Ezeagu

Freshman | Forward | 6-10, 240

Brampton, Ontario (GTA Prep at Mississauga Secondary School)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Top-24 player in Canada after averaging 11.4 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per contest during the 2017-18 season … named the Defensive Player of the Year by the National Preparatory Association … averaged a double-double, making him the only player in the league to achieve the feat … named co-MVP of the Signature All-Canadian Showcase … made the start and finished with eight points and seven rebounds during the 2018 BioSteel All-Canadian basketball game on April 9, 2018 … played at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., during 2016-17 campaign … efforts helped Hawks to a 31-7 overall record, including a USA National Prep Tournament championship on March 4, 2017 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. … has a 7-1 wingspan with comparisons to Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors by hashtagbasketball.com.

 

PERSONAL: Kaosi Ezeagu is the son of James and Patience Ezeagu … has one brother … born in the Bahamas … also played soccer, volleyball and football in high school.

 

#2 Nigel Hawkins

Freshman | Guard | 6-4, 185

Houston, Texas (Cypress Falls HS)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Ranked the no. 15 player in the state by TexasHoops.com … two-time All-State and State MVP as a junior at Cypress Falls High School … rated the no. 6 player in Houston by RCSSports.com … back-to-back District MVP as a junior and senior after leading Cypress High School in scoring at 21.1 and 17.9 points per game, respectively … tallied 14 contests of 20-plus points, helping Cypress to a 31-4 overall record with a 13-0 district mark … the Eagles advanced to the 6A Region 1 & 3 quarterfinals … during senior campaign, scored a season-high 33 points while adding six boards during a victory against Mitchell … opened final high school season with a 30-point effort while adding eight rebounds and five assists in a win against Tompkins … poured in a career-high 36 points and dished out three assists during junior season against South Houston … District Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore after averaging 14.0 points, 3.0 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game … recipient of the 2017 Guy V. Lewis Award … 2018 Houston Sports Authority Boys Basketball High School Player of the Year nominee.

 

PERSONAL: Full name is Nigel Duron Hawkins … son of Steve Michael Hawkins and Tonya Hawkins-Medina … has two brothers and one sister … born in Houston, Texas … father played in the NBA for four teams (Boston Celtics in 1997, Sacramento Kings in 1999, Charlotte Hornets from 1999-2000 and Cleveland Cavaliers from 2000-01) … uncle, Eric Snow, played in the NBA (Seattle SuperSonics from 1995-98, Philadelphia 76ers from 1997-2004 and Cleveland Cavaliers from 2004-08) … likes to golf as a hobby … nickname is Hawk Time.

 

#32 Efe Odigie

Freshman | Forward | 6-9, 280

Houston, Texas (Pro-Vision Academy)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Rated the no. 22 player in the state by TexasHoops.com … top-10 player in Houston by RCSSports.com … state champion … averaged a team-leading 14.2 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 61.2 percent from the field for the Houston Hoopstars on the 2017 summer circuit … scored 20-plus points in 13 contests and recorded 12 double-doubles … notched a season-high 26 points during a win against Shooting Stars-blue … opened 2017 summer circuit with a 23-point effort versus TJ Ford … recorded first double-double of summer after posting 23 points and 11 rebounds against RL9 Grey in the second game of the summer … registered second double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds  against LA United in the third contest … registered a season-high 16 rebounds and scored 16 points against LCCAVS … pulled down 15 boards at Triumph Gold … averaged 1.2 blocks per game … blocked season-high five shots at SSA … registered four blocked shots against Houston Hoops DJ.

 

PERSONAL: Full name is Omoefay Johnson Odigie … son of Curtis Odigie and Paula Lafleur … has one brother and three sisters … born in Houston, Texas … graduated valedictorian in high school … mother played basketball at Nicholls State and sister, Tiffany, played basketball at Alabama State … nickname is Alpha.

 

#23 Deon Stroud

Freshman | Guard/Forward | 6-5, 190

Fresno, Calif. (Trinity International [Las Vegas, Nev.])

PRIOR TO UTEP: Rated as a three-star prospect by ESPN … averaged 20.5 points per game, 10 rebounds per game and seven assists per contest … named All-District … selected to the Fresno Bee’s All-Star team in 2017 … named team MVP after averaging 20.1 points per game and 10.5 boards per contest during junior season … played freshman (6.5 ppg) and sophomore (17.0 ppg) seasons at San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, Calif.) … Panthers went a combined 51-13 during those two seasons … named All-State and All-District during sophomore season.

 

PERSONAL: Full name is Deon Jeremin Stroud … son of Leroy Harris and Shay Greathouse … has one brother and one sister … uncle, Carl Ray Harris played basketball at Fresno State … born in Fresno, Calif. … played football in high school … nickname is Deon.

 

#20 Garrett Sullivan

Freshman | Guard | 6-5, 190

Easthampton, Mass. (Williston Northhampton HS/Hillcrest Prep Academy [AZ])

PRIOR TO UTEP: Two-year letterman at Hillcrest Prep Academy (AZ) … won the 2016-17 Grind Session National Championship … averaged 15 points and six assists per contest at the shooting guard position during senior season … scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers against Belmont in the quarterfinals of the NEPSAC Class A Tournament … scored team-high 19 points in a victory against Salisbury … earned 2018 All-NEPSAC Class A honorable mention … recognized as one of the top guards in the state by the New England Recruiting Report … scored 18 points, helping Williston secure a NEPSAC Class A tournament berth … chipped in with 10 points during a victory versus Pomfret.

 

PERSONAL: Garrett Sullivan is the son of Tim and Lisa Sullivan … has two sisters.

 

#12 Anthony Tarke

Sophomore | Guard/Forward | 6-6, 220

Gaithersburg, Md. (Gaithersburg HS/New Jersey Institute of Technology)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Will sit out the 2018-19 season per NCAA transfer rules and have two years of eligibility starting in 2019-20 … led NJIT in scoring last season (15.7 ppg) and ranked second in rebounding (6.2 rpg) … garnered first team All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors … registered career-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds at Kennesaw State … matched career best with another 27-point effort at Lipscomb … dished out a season-high six dimes and scored 17 points against FDU … notched a double-double that included 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Rutgers … pulled down 11 rebounds and tallied 20 points for second double-double of season at North Florida … tabbed an Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Selection in 2016-17 after averaging 9.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game… opened collegiate career with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) against Sarah Lawrence … notched second career double-double with a season-high 23 points and 10 boards against North Florida … registered third double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) versus Stetson … named ASUN Newcomer of the week twice, the first was for averaging 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds during a two-game span (Jan. 9-15), while the second was for an 18-point, seven-rebound effort during a win against USC Upstate.

 

PERSONAL: Full name is Anthony Shey Tarke … son of Elizabeth Tarke and Willibroad Anthony … has two brothers and two sisters … born in Washington D.C. … named to honor roll in high school.

 

#4 Tydus Verhoeven

Sophomore | Forward | 6-9, 215

Manteca, Calif. (Menteca HS/Duquesne)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Played in all 32 contests during freshman season at Duquesne … started final 27 games of the 2017-18 season … broke school’s freshman blocked shot record (71) … eighth freshman in the 42-year history of the Atlantic 10 to lead the league in blocks (2.22 bpg overall/2.33 in A-10 games only) … exploded for a season-high 21 points on a 7-for-7 effort from the field and 7-for-8 at the free throw line against Saint Louis … played a season-best 34 minutes, while recording four blocked shots and chipping in with four rebounds and three assists against the Billikens … tallied a season-high nine boards, blocked seven shots, dished out three dimes and scored 12 points against Robert Morris … blocked a season-high nine shots (DU freshman record) and dished out a career-best five assists, while adding four points and eight rebounds against George Mason … grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots at VCU … averaged 16.5 points per game, ripped down 12.7 rebounds per contest, blocked 6.0 shots per game and chipped in with 2.8 assists on average as a senior at Menteca High School … named Valley Oak League MVP by conference coaches after leading the Buffaloes to a 14-0 league record.

 

PERSONAL: Tydus Verhoeven is the son of Jodi Verhoeven … mother played basketball at Fresno State (1991-94) and was drafted by the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks … born in Baldwin Park, Calif. … also participated in track for two years and football and volleyball for one year each at Manteca HS.

 

#11 Bryson Williams

Junior | Forward | 6-8, 225

Fresno, Calif. (Roosevelt HS/Fresno State)

PRIOR TO UTEP: Rated a Top-5 Division I transfer by CBBCentral.com … previously played at Fresno State for two seasons … made 58 starts in 65 games played (2016-17, 2017-18) … averaged 14 points per game during sophomore season, ranking second on the squad … earned All-Mountain West third team honors …  led the Bulldogs in total rebounds (195) and rebounds per game (6.1) … ranked second on the team in points (441) and field goal percentage (59.6) … posted four double-doubles … scored 22 points and pulled down nine boards at Arkansas … poured in a career-high 30 points on 14-of-17 shooting in a triumph against Cal State Monterey Bay … recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and scored 10 points during a win against CSU Bakersfield … registered 19 points and 10 rebounds in a victory against Colorado State … played a season-high 40 minutes (14 points, eight rebounds) at New Mexico … scored 23 points and tallied nine rebounds against San Diego State in the MW Tournament … averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game during freshman season (2016-17) … scored season-high 18 points at Utah State … matched season best with another 18-point effort at San Diego State … Roosevelt High School all-time leading scorer with 2,302 points, which ranks as the fifth-most in Central Section history and the most-ever in the city of Fresno … averaged 34 points and 18 rebounds per game during senior season.

 

PERSONAL: Son of Donald and Corinthia Williams … has a younger sister.

UTEP Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rodney Terry has been tabbed the congressman for Conference USA on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I Congress. 

Terry takes the spot previously occupied by Florida Atlantic head coach Michael Curry.

“I’m deeply honored and very excited to represent Conference USA on the NABC Congress,” Terry said.  “I was fortunate to serve in this role at Fresno State, and look forward to doing so again at UTEP.  The Congress plays such a critical role, working with the NCAA and its committees to better the lives of our student-athletes while continuing to elevate our great game.”

The NABC Division I Congress conducts a conference call monthly, in addition to an annual in-person meeting during the NABC Convention.

Terry led Fresno State to four 20-win seasons and three postseason tournaments in the last five years, including the 2016 NCAA Tournament after the Bulldogs captured the Mountain West Conference championship.  He took the reins of the UTEP program on March 12. 

Terry coached 15 All-Conference players in seven seasons at Fresno State, including the 2016 MWC Player of the Year Marvelle Harris.  He previously was an assistant coach at Texas for nine seasons, during a stretch where the Longhorns racked up 232 victories, nine NCAA Tournament bids, a Final Four berth in 2003 and trips to the Elite Eight in 2006 and 2008. 

While at Texas, he helped recruit 10 McDonald’s All-Americans including current NBA standouts LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and Tristan Thompson.

The Sun Bowl Association and WestStar Bank are pleased to announce the teams coming to El Paso for the 57th Annual WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational, which will be held in the Don Haskins Center, Friday and Saturday, December 21-22.

The four-team tournament includes two top-100 (RPI) teams and a former UTEP-conference rival from the Western Athletic Conference. Wyoming returns to El Paso for the holiday tournament and joins East Tennessee State, Norfolk State and home team, UTEP on the hardwood.

“We appreciate all the hard work that the Sun Bowl committee puts into hosting this tournament, and finding quality opponents to compete in it year in and year out,” said UTEP Head Coach Rodney Terry.

East Tennessee State is making its first appearance in the oldest collegiate holiday basketball tournament in the nation, while Wyoming is making its second appearance.  The first time the Cowboys played in the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational was in 2007, going 1-1 that year.

This is Norfolk State’s third appearance in the Invitational after making it to the championship game in 2015.  The Miners have played in every tournament since it began in 1961.

“We are thrilled about this year’s field.  We are hoping to continue our plan of bringing in the best teams we can find,” Sun Bowl basketball committee chairman Barry Kobren said.

“East Tennessee posted an RPI of 92 and Wyoming finished with an RPI of 98 last year.  With the addition of new UTEP head coach Rodney Terry and some great recruits coming to El Paso, this looks to be a very competitive tournament once again.”

The North Dakota State Bison defeated the UTEP Miners 63-51 in the championship game of the 2017 WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational to take home the hardware on Friday, December 22, 2017 in the Don Haskins Center. NDSU used a 19-2 scoring run during the final seven and a half minutes of the game to secure the victory.

Guard Paul Smith, who was awarded the Barry Kobren Most Valuable Player Trophy, led all players with 19 points. Sophomore guard Tyson Ward, who was named to the all-tournament team, tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“This tournament has become a tradition and the history of teams and players that have come through El Paso is tremendous,” Sun Bowl Association Executive Director Bernie Olivas said. “Our basketball committee, which is led by Barry Kobren, continues to seek out and work towards bringing quality teams to the Don Haskins Center and El Paso.”

In 2009, the tournament was renamed to honor former UTEP head coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Don Haskins. “The Bear” coached at UTEP from 1961 to 1999, winning 719 games and making 14 postseason appearances. Haskins famously led the Miners to victory in the 1966 National Championship game over Adolph Rupp and the heavily favored Kentucky Wildcats.

Officials added, “The Sun Bowl Association would like to thank WestStar Bank for supporting the nation’s oldest holiday basketball tournament as it has been the title sponsor for 10 consecutive years.”

ABOUT THE 2018 TEAMS

East Tennessee State

• ETSU head coach Steve Forbes enters his fourth season with the Buccaneers, and has totaled 76 wins and a .724 win percentage in his first three seasons. Forbes holds the 14th highest win percentage among current NCAA Division I head coaches.
• ETSU is a member of the Southern Conference and has made 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament, while totaling 22 conference championships in program history.
• The Buccaneers are coming off a 25-win campaign in 2017-18, including a 16-game win streak, which tied a program record and also stood as the longest win streak in the country at one point during that run. The Blue and Gold also tied a program record with 11 true road wins a year ago.
• ETSU boasts one of the nation’s longest three-point streaks, as the Bucs have made at least one three-pointer in 963 consecutive games, marking the seventh-longest active streak.

 

Norfolk State Spartans

• Head Coach Robert Jones (Sixth Season)
• NSU finished 14-19 overall last year, 11-5 in the MEAC.
• The Spartans tied for 4th in the league standings in 2017-18, the first time in 7 years they did not finish 3rd or better.
• They have still finished 4th or better in the league in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
• NSU set school records last year for 3-pointers (254) and 3-point field goal % (35.9)
• The Spartans ranked in the top 60 in the nation last year in turnovers forced, rebounds per game and field goal % defense.
• Head coach Robert Jones is 87-82 in his 5 seasons, including 58-22 in MEAC games.
• Played in the 2015 WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Championship.

 

UTEP Miners

• Head Coach Rodney Terry (First Season)
• UTEP Basketball enters a new era in 2018-19 as Rodney Terry was appointed the 19th head coach in program history on March 12.
• Terry posted four 20-win seasons in the last five years as head coach at Fresno State, leading the Bulldogs to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
• Joining Terry on the UTEP staff are assistant coaches Lamont Smith, Brian Burton and Nick Matson, and Director of Basketball Operations Mark Gisbertz.
• The Miners return four key players from the 2017-18 season in senior forward Paul Thomas (8.1 ppg/5.4 rpg), junior guard Isiah Osborne (9.4 ppg) and sophomore guards Evan Gilyard (9.1 ppg) and Kobe Magee (4.5 ppg).  UTEP also introduces a talented group of incoming freshmen including forward Kaosi Ezeagu, guard Nigel Hawkins and center Efe Odigie.

 

Wyoming Cowboys

• Head Coach Allen Edwards (Third Season) has won 20 or more games in his first two seasons as head coach.
• Wyoming is led by First Team All-Mountain West Player Justin James.
• The Pokes will play their first game in El Paso since 2008 when UW played in the Sun Bowl Invitational.
• The Cowboys have hit over 300 three pointers in each of the last three seasons.
• Wyoming has had two of their all-time top three scoring seasons in two seasons under Edwards.
• 2017 Final RPI – 98
• 2017 CBI Champion

UTEP head coach Kevin Baker announced Monday that Kayla Weaver has been appointed as an assistant women’s basketball coach.

Weaver joins the Miners after most-recently guiding San Jacinto College (Houston, Texas,) to a 25-11 record and the Region XIV Tournament Championship. The squad established program records for wins while also securing the initial NJCAA National Tournament victory in the team’s final season of play. Three of her players were selected to the All-Region Team and she was voted as the NJCAA District L Coach of the Year.

“Kayla did an outstanding job leading her team to regional championship and the National Tournament this season,” Baker said. “She has proven that she is ready to jump to the next level of Division I Basketball. I have worked with Kayla before and have found her to be a very loyal and hardworking basketball coach.  She is known as one of the brightest and best of the up-and-coming coaches in the country. We have gained a solid recruiter and an even better person.  We are very excited to add her to the Miner Family.”

Weaver served as an assistant coach under current Miner assistant coach Michael Madrid at San Jacinto College from 2015-17 before being elevated to the top spot. In that timeframe she aided the team to forging a combined record of 46-20, including 28-12 within conference play.

The program made its initial appearance in the national tournament (2016-17). Additionally there was one NJCAA All-American, four All-Region XIV Team honorees and five who garnered All-Conference status.

She previously spent one season as an assistant under Baker at UT Tyler. The team rolled to a record of 27-3, including 19-1 in league action. It was ranked in the top-25 poll and advanced to the round of the 32 at the NCAA Division III tourney. Prior to that she was an assistant coach for Panola College. During her time there the program made a pair of Region XIV Tournament appearances.

Weaver began her playing career with Panola College. She was a first-team All-Conference and first-team All-Region selection, in addition to meriting academic first-team Region XIV accolades. Weaver was also chosen as the Panola College Buddy Lowery Award Winner, which recognized the top academic athlete in the graduating class. She then moved on to Texas Woman’s University, helping the team win the 2010-11 Lone Star Conference title. She was an All-LSC first-team member and was the 2011 Tournament MVP.

Weaver earned her undergraduate degree from Texas Woman’s University with a bachelor of science-mathematics in Dec. 2011. She secured a master’s degree in kinesiology from the university in July 2016.

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UTEP Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rodney Terry named Lamont Smith to his staff on Wednesday.

“I’m excited to hire Lamont as my top assistant here at UTEP,” Terry said. “From afar I’ve had the pleasure of watching him successfully recruit, develop and coach young men at some of the top programs in men’s college basketball. Coach Smith is a tireless worker who understands the commitment needed to build a program that is able to sustain success at a high level. He will play a key role in helping me establish a competitive program that educates and develops young men into productive adults.”

“My family and I are ecstatic about the opportunity to join the UTEP basketball program,” Smith said. “It’s like a dream to have the opportunity to be back in my home state of Texas coaching at a university with such a rich tradition of success in college basketball. Working with one of the top coaches in Rodney Terry made this an easy decision for me.”

Smith most recently served as the head coach at the University of San Diego for three seasons. The Toreros made significant strides under his leadership, posting marks of 9-21 in 2015-16, 13-18 in 2016-17 and 20-14 in 2017-18. San Diego’s West Coast Conference record also climbed from 4-14 in 2015-16 to 9-9 this season.

The 2017-18 Toreros featured three All-Conference players – senior forward Isaiah Pineiro (first team), junior guard Isaiah Wright (second team) and junior guard Olin Carter III (honorable mention) – and ended their season in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Their non-conference schedule was highlighted by victories at NM State (65-60) and Colorado (69-59).

Smith coached a second team All-WCC Player (senior forward Brett Bailey) during the 2016-17 season, in which the Toreros knocked off eventual NIT participant BYU at home.

A native of The Colony, Texas, Smith has previous assistant coaching stints at Saint Louis (1999-2001), Saint Mary’s (2001-07), Santa Clara (2007-08), Arizona State (2008-12), Washington (2012-13) and New Mexico (2013-15).

He returned to San Diego, his alma mater, after helping New Mexico to 42 wins in two years as Associate Head Coach. The Lobos put together a stellar 2013-14 campaign, finishing 27-7 and 15-3 in the Mountain West Conference while reaching the NCAA Tournament. With Smith overseeing the defense, UNM yielded 66.1 points per game while holding opponents to a .389 field goal percentage.

While at Washington, Smith assisted Lorenzo Romar to an 18-16 mark and 9-9 record in the Pac-12 Conference, along with a berth in the NIT. It marked the second time that Smith worked with Romar; he got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Saint Louis from 1999-2001 when Romar was coach of the Billikens. His duties at Saint Louis included coordinating the team’s video editing and film exchange, while assisting with team’s recruiting, scouting and strength and conditioning programs.

Smith’s tenure at Arizona State produced a couple of 20-win seasons, and the Sun Devils reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Smith played a critical role in the development of 2009 Pac-10 Player of the Year and current Houston Rocket James Harden.

Prior to joining Herb Sendek’s staff at Arizona State, Smith served as Kerry Keating’s top assistant at Santa Clara. He helped compile one of the top recruiting classes in the West Coast Conference during his stint with the Broncos.

Smith spent six years as an assistant on Randy Bennett’s staff at Saint Mary’s, renewing a relationship that started when the two worked together at Saint Louis. He helped engineer a major turnaround with the Gaels, as they climbed from two wins the year before his arrival to a school-record 25 in 2004-05. That year Saint Mary’s made only its third all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2003-04 squad set a school record by scoring 2,377 points. Saint Mary’s was stout on both sides of the ball; in the first four seasons that he was on the bench, the Gaels led the WCC in scoring defense.

Smith played at San Diego from 1994-99, starting every game for an 18-9 squad as a senior. He was named the Toreros’ Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 and 1999 and served as team captain from 1997-99. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from San Diego in 1998.

Smith and his wife, Kim, have two daughters, Payton (12) and Olivia (11).

Rodney Terry, who led Fresno State to the 2016 Mountain West Conference Tournament title and three postseason bids in the last five years, was appointed the 19th head coach in UTEP men’s basketball history on Monday.

His hiring is subject to approval by the UT System Boards of Regents.

“We are delighted to welcome Coach Terry to El Paso and we’re excited about the future of UTEP Basketball under his leadership,” UTEP President Diana Natalicio said.  “He’s enjoyed a very successful tenure as Fresno State’s head coach, and he’s well-known as an effective recruiter with deep ties to the Lone Star State.  We look very much forward to bringing him back to Texas to usher in a new era of Miner Ball.”

“We are very pleased to welcome Rodney Terry to the UTEP family,” Director of Athletics Jim Senter said.  “He’s a great fit for us with his Texas connections and his proven track record as a coach and recruiter.  He’s a proven winner and will represent this proud program well.”

“I’m super excited about an unbelievable opportunity at the University of Texas at El Paso,” Terry said.  “It’s a program that has experienced a very high level of success and has a great basketball tradition that I’m looking forward to building upon.”

Terry, 49, guided the Bulldogs to a record of 126-108 in seven seasons as head coach (2011-18), including 20-win campaigns in four of the last five years.  Fresno State compiled a 62-58 mark in Mountain West Conference play over the last seven years, with double-digit victories in each of the last four campaigns.

A native of Angelton, Texas, Terry makes his return to the Lone Star State.  He played his collegiate ball at St. Edward’s University in Austin, and began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant with the Hilltoppers in 1990.

Following three coaching stints at high schools in the state of Texas – including as the head coach at Somerville HS and his alma mater Angleton HS – Terry served as an assistant coach at Baylor (1996-98), UNC Wilmington (1998-02) and Texas (2002-11) prior to landing the head coaching position at Fresno State.

In seven seasons at Fresno State, Terry coached players who earned a total of 15 All-Conference accolades, including two-time (2015-16) first team All-Mountain West guard Marvelle Harris.  This year, guard Deshon Taylor became the second Bulldog to garner first team All-League honors under Terry’s watch.

Terry also coached second team All-League Kevin Olekaibe (2012) and Tyler Johnson (2014) and third teamers Taylor (2017) and Bryson Williams (2018).  He coached the MWC Freshman of the Year Paul Watson in 2014 and the MWC Player of the Year Harris in 2016.  Three of his players – Harris (2015-16), Jaron Hopkins (2017) and Taylor (2018) – earned spots on the MWC All-Defensive Team.

Under Terry’s direction, Fresno State forged 21 victories during the 2013-14 season, 25 in 2015-16, 20 in 2016-17 and 21 in 2017-18.  The Bulldogs went 10-8 in the MWC in 2014-15, 13-5 in 2015-16 (second place), and 11-7 in both 2016-17 and 2017-18.

In 2016 Fresno State knocked off UNLV (95-82), Colorado State (64-56) and San Diego State (68-63) at the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament – the Bulldogs’ first trip to the “Big Dance” in 15 years.  Harris was tabbed the MWC Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Fresno State’s 25 wins in 2015-16 were the third-most in school history and the Bulldogs closed the season strong, winning 11 of their last 12 games.

Terry also led Fresno State to an NIT appearance in 2017, and a CBI bid in 2014.  The Bulldogs finished runner-up in the CBI in 2014, and their chase to the finals included a 61-56 win at UTEP.

His 2014-15 squad notched the school’s first win over a top-25 team (San Diego State) in 13 years.  The 2013-14 Bulldogs posted the program’s first 20-win season and postseason appearance in seven years while making a dramatic turnaround in MWC play.  Fresno State rallied from a 1-7 league start to finish 9-9.  During the 2012-13 campaign, the Bulldogs secured their first-ever win at UNLV.

Known as an outstanding recruiting and bench coach, Terry has coached two national players of the year and has been a part of 12 teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

His nine-year tenure as an assistant coach at Texas produced nine NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four berth in 2003, trips to the Elite Eight in 2006 and 2008, and four Sweet 16 showings.  The Longhorns fashioned a mark of 232-80 during that span, the winningest nine-year period in school history.

They posted 30 victories during both the 2005-06 (30) and 2007-08 (school-record 31) seasons, and 28 during the 2010-11 campaign.  In January of 2010, Texas reached the no. 1 spot in the country for the first time in school history.

During Terry’s time on the bench, a total of 10 McDonald’s All-Americans made their way to the UT campus (Brad Buckman 2002, LaMarcus Aldridge 2004, Daniel Gibson 2004, Mike Williams 2004, D.J. Augustin 2006, Kevin Durant 2006, Jai Lucas 2007, Avery Bradley 2009, Cory Joseph 2010, Tristan Thompson 2010).

Terry also ran point on the recruitment of 2011 UT signee Myck Kabongo, who competed in the 2011 McDonald’s All-American Game.  Texas’ recruiting class was rated number one nationally in 2004, third in 2006 and 2009 and eighth in 2010.

Texas’ National Player of the Year recipients were T.J. Ford in 2003 and Kevin Durant in 2007.  Ford (2003) and Durant (2007) joined D.J. Augustin (2008) as consensus first team All-Americans during Terry’s time as an assistant, and Augustin claimed the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in 2008.

In all, Terry coached 13 players at Texas that were chosen in the NBA Draft, including nine first-round selections and five lottery picks in Ford, Aldridge, Durant, Augustin and Thompson.  Texas was the only school in the country to have a Top-10 pick in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 NBA Draft, and the Longhorns had three players chosen in 2010 and 2012.

Prior to joining Rick Barnes’ staff in Austin, Terry assisted coach Jerry Wainwright at UNC Wilmington for four seasons.  The Seahawks made three postseason tournament appearances during this stretch, reaching the NCAA’s in 2000 and 2002 and the NIT in 2001.  During the 2001-02 season, UNC Wilmington set a school record with 23 victories and scored the initial NCAA Tournament win in school history, upsetting USC 98-89 in overtime in the first round.

Terry assembled a top-30 recruiting class at UNC Wilmington and, during the 2001-02 season, was named the co-mid/low-major Assistant Coach of the Year by TheInsiderHoops.com, which he shared with Valparaiso’s Scott Drew (now the head coach at Baylor).

Prior to joining the staff at UNCW, Terry served two years as an assistant coach at Baylor (1996-98). He spent one season (1995-96) as the varsity coach at Angleton High School and two years as the head coach at Somerville High School. Terry posted a 15-13 mark at Angleton and a 49-21 record at Somerville, leading the school to the Class 2A state semifinals in 1993-94. He also worked for two years (1991-93) as an assistant coach at Austin Bowie High School.

Terry earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Physical Education from St. Edward’s University in 1990.  During his collegiate career, he was a three-year starter at point guard and a three-time Academic All-Big State Conference selection.  The Hilltoppers won the Big State Conference title during his freshman season (1986-87), and he served as team captain during his junior and senior campaigns.

The Rodney Terry Collegiate Head Coaching Record

Season           School                   Overall         Conference                  Postseason

2011-12         Fresno State          13-20            3-11 (WAC/7th)

2012-13         Fresno State          11-19            5-11 (MWC/6th)

2013-14         Fresno State          21-18            9-9 (MWC/t5th)            CBI

2014-15         Fresno State          15-17            10-8 (MWC/6th)

2015-16         Fresno State          25-10            13-5 (MWC/2nd)          NCAA

2016-17         Fresno State          20-13            11-7 (MWC/4th)           NIT

2017-18         Fresno State          21-11            11-7 (MWC/t4th)

Totals                                          126-108        62-58

The UTEP men’s basketball team capped a tempestuous 2017-18 season by winning four of its last seven games, including a thrilling 68-66 triumph at North Texas (March 3) that catapulted the Miners to the Conference USA Championships for the 13th time in 13 years.

There were storm clouds even before the season got underway, as the departure of 6-11 Kelvin Jones and 6-10 Joey St. Pierre left the Miners severely short-handed in the frontcourt.  Then, six games into the season UTEP lost its coach, as Tim Floyd announced his retirement after leading the Miners to a 138-99 mark (75-43 C-USA) in seven-plus years at the helm of the program.

UTEP went 5-7 in the non-conference portion of the schedule.  Among the highlights was a 100-50 rout of Louisiana College in the season opener (Nov. 10).  The Miners blew out to a 32-0 lead in that game, coming within two points of tying an NCAA record (Seton Hall led Kean 34-0 to start the game on Nov. 29, 1998).  UTEP scored 100 points in a season opener for only the third time against the Division III Wildcats.

A series of near-misses over the course of the season began with a 58-56 loss to Boise State in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Nov. 16 in Myrtle Beach.  The Miners led the Broncos, 56-51 with under a minute remaining before Boise State closed the game with a 7-0 run, including a three-point play by Chandler Hutchison for the deciding points with 3.1 seconds left.

It was the first of 11 games that the Miners would lose by nine points or less in 2017-18.

UTEP would finish 0-3 at Myrtle Beach and drop six consecutive games overall during a stretch where Floyd turned over the reins to long-time assistant Phil Johnson.  The Johnson era got off to a promising start with a 4-1 record in its first five games, including back-to-back victories over New Mexico (Dec. 2) and Washington State (Dec. 9) in the Don Haskins Center.

Senior guard Omega Harris scored a career-high 28 points in the 88-76 triumph over the long-time rival Lobos, missing just two shots all night (9-for-11 from the field, 4-for-4 from three-point range, 6-for-6 from the line).  A week later, the Miners dispatched a red-hot Washington State team 76-69 with a big second half.

A UTEP team that traditionally got off to a fast start in Conference USA play struggled to a 1-4 mark in its first five league games.  The Miners broke through with a 72-68 victory over FIU (Jan. 13) in the Haskins Center but would lose their next six games, including five to teams that would finish in the top-five of the league standings.

In mid-February, UTEP stood 2-10 in C-USA play and was fighting for its life to make the league tournament.  The game at Charlotte (Feb. 15) was pivotal as the Miners were just a game up on the last-place 49ers.

Seeking its first road win of the season, UTEP led by as many as 22 points in the first half.  But Charlotte came roaring back, forging a seven-point lead with six minutes to go.  The Miners, however, dug deep and outscored the 49ers 12-4 over the final 5:58, as junior forward Paul Thomas’ jumper with 2.6 seconds left propelled UTEP to an 87-86 victory.

The Miners had taken a big step towards a C-USA Tournament berth but, coupled with Rice surging down the stretch, needed to take care of business in the final homestand of the season.  And that they did, as senior center Matt Willms’ tip-in with 25 seconds left scored a 74-72 win over LA Tech (Feb. 22), and the Miners put together one of their better all-around outings of the campaign with a 73-44 drubbing of Southern Miss in the home finale on Feb. 24.

UTEP had a two-game lead over Rice for the final spot in the C-USA Tournament with two games remaining, but its position became more precarious when the Owls knocked off the Miners, 76-70, on March 1 in Houston.

Suddenly, UTEP needed to win at North Texas (March 3) to guarantee a spot in the league’s pinnacle event.  Once again, the Miners stepped up with their backs against the wall.  They outrebounded (18-17) and outscored (40-37) the Mean Green in the second half and rallied for a 68-66 triumph on Willms’ game-winning dunk off an alley-oop pass by freshman guard Evan Gilyard with three seconds left.

The Miners’ season ended four days later in Frisco, as they once again had trouble scoring and rebounding against fifth-seed UTSA.  The Miners averaged 67.5 points per game for the season and were outrebounded by an average of 4.7 per outing.

Miner seniors Jake Flaggert, Harris and Willms combined to play in 359 collegiate games and scored 2,619 points.  Flaggert finished his career ranked 13th in school history in three-point field goal percentage (.366) and is the Miners’ all-time leader in charges drawn (67).  Harris is second in three-point field goals (174), fifth in minutes (3,767), eighth in three-point percentage (.388), ninth in scoring (1,407 points) and 10th in steals (126).

Willms, who overcame numerous injuries during his six years at UTEP, finished third in the record book in field goal percentage (.574) and fourth in blocked shots (125).

As the senior class moves on, a group of newcomers showed promise for the future.  Sophomore guard Isiah Osborne was the Miners’ leading scorer for C-USA games only (11.9 ppg) and scored 20+ points four times, all versus league opponents.  Guard Evan Gilyard led UTEP with five 20-point games, including a UTEP freshman record 29 versus UTSA in the C-USA Tournament.  Gilyard set a school record for freshman free throw percentage (.844).

Kobe Magee led C-USA in three-point percentage for league games only (.531).  His .425 overall three-point percentage rates fourth in the UTEP freshman record book, and his 31 three-point field goals are tied for fourth among Miner freshmen.

Freshman swingman Trey Wade averaged 7.2 points for the season and picked up the first double-double of his collegiate career (10 points/10 boards) in the season finale against UTSA.  Freshman forward Tirus Smith showed signs of being a force inside despite missing six C-USA games with a knee injury.  On Jan. 25 at UAB, UTEP had three freshmen score in double figures in a game (Wade 22 points, Gilyard 14 points, Magee 11 points) for the first time since 1982.

With their inside game diminished, the Miners took the offensive attack outside and set a school record with 224 three-point field goals.  That narrowly eclipsed the 223 made during the 2015-16 season.  The 2017-18 squad was the first in school history to make 11 or more three-pointers in three consecutive games (Rice, Southern Miss, LA Tech).  UTEP’s .371 three-point percentage in C-USA play was second only to Old Dominion’s .383.

In the end, UTEP’s 11-20 record was filled with “what-ifs.”  The Miners tied the school record by losing four C-USA games in which they led at halftime.  They also lost nine C-USA games by 10 points or less.  But in a turbulent year, they ended the season strong to keep their string of C-USA Tournament appearances intact.  Now a new coach will take the helm of the program in 2018-19, and work to build a contender for the league title.

FRISCO, Tx – Tamara Seda registered her 15th double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds) of the year and ninth-seeded UTEP made a valiant effort before top-seeded UAB pulled away down the stretch to down the Miners, 75-66, in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Conference USA Championships at the Star Thursday.

The Blazers (25-5) advance to face fifth-seeded Rice in the semifinals while the Miners (17-14) bow out of the event and most likely conclude the campaign having more than doubled their overall win total (8-23) from a year ago.

UTEP dug itself an early double-digit deficit (15-5, 3:39 1Q), but Seda and the rest of the Miners refused to go down quietly against the regular-season champion Blazers. UTEP clawed back within two (33-31) at the half before eventually vaulting out to a five-point lead (56-51) with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.

UAB responded by wrapping a 12-0 run around the quarter break, and it never trailed again. UTEP did score the game’s next four points to get within three (63-60) with 6:17 left but an 8-2 push over the next four minutes sealed the Miners’ fate. Overall UAB outscored UTEP, 20-10, in the decisive frame.

“I’d like to thank everybody here in Frisco and everybody who made this tournament possible,” UTEP head coach Kevin Baker said. “The best team won today. They’re the number one seed for a reason. They played really well, especially down the stretch. I hate that for our team because I thought we battled so well to be with them in the fourth quarter. But UAB did what champions do. They hit clutch shots in the stretch.”

Jordan Alexander (11 points), Zuzanna Puc (11 points) and Jordan Jenkins (career-high 10 points) joined Seda in double figures for scoring. UTEP connected on 44.7 percent (21-47) from the floor, including 60.0 percent (6-10) from distance, in addition to winning the boards (35-29) but too many turnovers (19) proved costly.

UAB was paced by 21 points from Deanna Kuzmanic, with Rachael Childress (15 points), Miyah Barnes (13 points) and Katelynn Thomas (10 points) joining her in double figures for scoring. The Blazers nailed 46.2 percent (30-65) from the floor despite UTEP holding the nation’s fifth-rated 3-point shooting team to 32.3 percent (10-31) from beyond-the arc.

Seda, the lone senior on the squad, finishes her impactful three seasons in the Orange and Blue second for career double-doubles (26), fourth in field-goal percentage (49.4), fifth for rebounds (717), sixth in blocked shots (89) and tied ninth for rebounding average (7.5). She is also placed in the career rankings for free throws made (236-12th), free throws attempted (356-13th), games started (61-16th), minutes played (2339-18th), points (909-20th), individual wins (54-tied 24th) and games played (96-tied 26th).

“Tamara has been nothing short of our leader and we appreciate everything she’s done for UTEP women’s basketball,” Baker said. “Our hats are off to her, what she does and what she means to the city of El Paso.”

The two sides traded scores early on, with a deep 3-pointer by Faith Cook tying the tilt, 5-5, on a 3-pointer that she was fouled on. She couldn’t convert on the ensuing free throw, though, and UAB took off. The Blazers ripped off 10 consecutive points to put the Orange and Blue down 10 (15-5) with 3:39 to play in the opening frame.

Roeshonda Patterson made a driving lay-up to stop the surge but UAB answered immediately with a transition lay-up to once again make it a 10-point tilt (17-7). UTEP was able to inch within seven (23-16) heading to the second quarter.

Jenkins drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to get the Orange and Blue within four (25-21) early into the second frame but UAB answered immediately with a lay-up and eventually went back out by six but a Jenkins lay-up followed by a Seda score got it to within two. It was back-and-forth the rest of the frame, with UAB holding the small edge at the break.

The Miners took their first lead (36-35) of the game on a triple from Katarina Zec early in the third quarter. That play started a thrilling sequence which featured a pair of lead changes and four ties over the next seven minutes. UTEP then put together its best stretch of the day by peeling off eight consecutive points to surge out by five (56-51) with 58 seconds left. UAB got two scores to close the quarter, cutting the lead to one (56-55) through three 30 minutes of action.

The Blazers continued the run over the first two minutes of the final frame, to wrap up that aforementioned 12-0 surge. UTEP battled down the stretch but couldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way.

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Evan Gilyard scored a career-high 29 points, but UTEP could only muster 58 as a team in bowing out of the Conference USA Championships to UTSA on Wednesday night at The Star in Frisco 71-58.

UTSA (19-13) completed a three-game sweep of the Miners (11-20) during the 2017-18 season.  It was a similar storyline to the first two meetings between the teams, where UTEP had trouble scoring and UTSA dominated the rebounding battle.

The Miners tallied 61, 59 and 58 points in three games versus the Roadrunners with a rebound margin of -11.7 per outing.  The first two games were close; this one wasn’t after UTSA built a double-digit lead (30-18) 13 minutes into the contest.

“You know, it’s really disappointing,” UTEP Interim Head Coach Phil Johnson said.  “Obviously we played those guys twice in two tough games, kind of down to the last minute.  And then for them to get away from us like they did was really disappointing.  We didn’t rebound the ball very well at all and we really stressed it.  But I’m proud of our guys.  Listen, we won four of our last six coming into the game.  We never gave up.  We kept fighting.  We had some tough losses at Old Dominion and other places.  But I give our guys credit and all our coaches credit.”

UTEP led once, 2-0.  Five minutes in, the Roadrunners doubled up the Miners at 10-5.  UTEP fell behind 39-29 at halftime.  UTSA scored the first four points of the second half, stretching the lead to 14.  The Roadrunners took their largest lead of 17 (62-45) with 9:44 to go on a three-point play by Nick Allen.

UTEP got within 10 at the 7:13 mark (62-52) and the 3:52 mark (66-56) but that was as close as it would get.

Epitomizing the Miners’ troubles, they forced a missed three-pointer by Allen with 4:46 remaining.  Secure the defensive rebound, and they’re headed the other way trying to cut it to single digits.  But instead, 6-5 Deon Lyle outmuscled the Miners’ big men for the offensive rebound and putback, making it 66-54 on a backbreaker of a play.

Gilyard made 10-of-25 shots and all six of his free throw attempts.

“He has the heart of a lion,” Johnson said.  “Whoever coaches him next year and for the rest of his career has got a heck of a point guard.  He showed it again tonight and I’m really proud of him.  I’m proud of all of our team for not giving up all year.  We had a really tough stretch there, we played tough teams and we didn’t check it in.  That’s what I’m proud of.  And I thought we were hard to play.  Tonight was really not indicative of what we have been doing the last three weeks.  We didn’t defend or rebound the way we have been.”

Omega Harris scored 12 points and Trey Wade posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  Harris closes out an illustrious career ranked second in school history in three-point field goals (174), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.388), ninth in scoring (1,407 points) and 10th in steals (126).

Byron Frohnen had a big first half for UTSA (13 points, 6-for-8 FGs), and Lyle had a big second half (15 points).  Frohnen recorded his first double-double of the season (14 points/14 rebounds) with six assists, and Lyle scored 18 points.

The Miners shot 36.7 percent and made 5-of-27 threes.

“They went in a zone and played a zone for 40 minutes,” Johnson said.  “We knew it would be 30 minutes plus of zone.  We spent three days trying to attack the zone.  We put some new sets in and really wanted to move the ball and there just wasn’t a lot there.  We wanted to try to get it down in the short corner and it didn’t happen a whole lot and it just wasn’t very effective obviously, scoring 58.  We knew we needed to score at least 70 to win.  We scored 58 and it’s not good enough against them.”

UTSA outscored UTEP 32-22 in the paint, outrebounded the Miners 45-34 and tallied 14 second chance points.

“They’re real fast, they seem like they made everything early,” Johnson said.  “Frohnen was throwing in some teardrops and floaters from everywhere.  We were helping off of Frohnen and he really got us early.  And then Lyle got going late, particularly in the second half.  We wanted to attack the zone with a lot of the sets and basic movement and motion and get it down low to Matt.  It just didn’t work out.  We missed some open shots and probably took some ill-advised shots.”

The Miners failed to advance in the C-USA Tournament for the first time in nine years, and for only the second time in the last 11 years.

FRISCO, Tx- Tamara Seda posted a huge double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds) to pace a quintet of Miners in double figures as ninth-seeded UTEP outlasted eighth-seeded Southern Miss, 72-67, in the opening round of the 2018 Conference USA Championships at the Star Wednesday morning.

The Miners (17-13), who became the first ninth seed to win at the league’s pinnacle event since 2012, advance to lock up with top-seed and regular-season champion UAB (24-5) in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. MST/11 a.m. CST Thursday while the Lady Eagles (15-15) conclude their campaign.

It was a back-and-forth contest with five ties and 11 lead changes. The Miners showed their mettle by surviving a 22-3 USM run in the third quarter that turned an 11-point lead (41-30) into an eight-point deficit (52-44) with 2:13 left in the frame. UTEP struck back with a 20-6 surge wrapped around the quarter break to regain the lead (64-58) for good, icing the contest at the free-throw line late.

“Well first of all my hat is off to Southern Miss,” UTEP head coach Kevin Baker said. “They have beat some really good teams this season. We were fortunate to come out on the winning side. I’m really proud and impressed with our team today. They’re just really good kids playing some really good basketball right now. I like the way our team is playing right now.”

UTEP shot 50.0 percent (22-44) from the floor, including 7-14 from distance, won the boards (34-25) and nailed 21-25 (84.0 percent) from the charity stripe. USM tried to compensate by forcing 17 turnovers that led to 23 points while also holding an advantage in bench scoring (26-12) but the Miners did too much elsewhere.

Faith Cook (14 points, four assists), Najala Howell (13 points, four boards) Jordan Alexander (10 points, four rebounds) and Zuzanna Puc (10 points, four rebounds) buoyed the play of Seda. Cook nailed a career-high four three pointers to account for 12 of her 14 points (tied second-highest total of season). Nine of Seda’s 14 rebounds came in the final frame.

Southern Miss was led by 23 points and eight assists from Shonte Hailes while Jayla King came off the bench to add 12 points.
The two sides went back-and-forth over the first several minutes before UTEP managed to go ahead by four (10-6) with 2:59 to play in the opening frame.

Southern Miss then ripped off nine straight points to surge out by five (15-10) with 1:09 left in the quarter. Three UTEP turnovers helped fuel the sequence, but the Miners regained their composure with back-to-back scores to cut the deficit to one (15-14) through 10 minutes of action.

A Southern Miss lay-up put it up by three (17-14) but Cook countered by nailing one of her three first-half triples to pull her squad even two minutes into the frame. Seda followed with a lay-up to complete a mini 5-0 push. The Lady Eagles answered with consecutive triples to vault back ahead by four. It remained a four-point differential (25-21) with 3:36 to play in the period but UTEP went to work. The Miners closed the half with a 10-2 run to carry a four-point advantage (31-27) into the locker room.

UTEP continued the surge to start the third quarter, peeling off seven consecutive points to wrap a 17-2 run around halftime. Katarina Zec started it off with a baseline jumper, which was followed by a pair Seda free throws. Cook then capped the sequence by knocking down another 3-point run. The two sides traded triples on the next possession, allowing UTEP to lead by 11 (41-30) with 7:42 left in the quarter.

USM regrouped and responded with a seemingly the demoralizing 22-3 run, including 16 straight, to flip the script. But UTEP didn’t break, instead peeling off eight consecutive points to pull even. Hailes hit a pair of free throws with one second left in the quarter to make it 54-52 through three quarters of action.

Both sides came out firing at the onset of the fourth quarter, with four lead changes over the first 90 seconds of the period. With the outcome of the game hanging in the balance, UTEP scored the next seven points to complete the aforementioned 20-6 push. USM was able to get the margin down to two (64-62). Howell calmly sank two free throws to put the Miners up four (66-62) with 54 seconds left, and USM was unable to get any closer from that point.

The match-up against UAB will be broadcast locally in El Paso on 600 ESPN El Paso with Steve Kaplowitz and Traci Miller on the call. It will also be streamed live on Facebook.

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Ninth-seeded UTEP (16-13) will lock up with eight-seeded Southern Miss (15-14) in the opening round of the 2018 Conference USA Championships at The Star in Frisco, Texas, starting at 10 a.m. MST/11 a.m. CST Wednesday.

The Miners enter with momentum, having claimed their final two C-USA contests to secure their first league winning streak this year, including downing eventual second-seed WKU, 80-75, on March. 3. USM claimed two of its final three, but was upended by FIU, 74-70, on March 3. UTEP is competing at the league’s pinnacle event for the 13th time in as many seasons since joining C-USA.

Steve Kaplowitz and Traci Miller will have the call of the game on 600 ESPN El Paso while it will also be streamed live on Facebook (Doug Anderson-play-by-play, Kyle Youmans-analyst and Madi Morris-sideline reporter).

The winner of the game will advance to face top-seeded UAB (24-5) in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. MST/11 a.m. CST Thursday.

Fans are encouraged to connect with the Miners on Facebook (UTEP Women’s Basketball), Instagram (@utepwbb) and Twitter (@UTEPWBB). They are also encouraged to use #WeAreMiners in posts.

INSIDE THE SERIES
UTEP is 12-8 all-time vs. Southern Miss, although the Lady Eagles have won three straight games against the Miners for the first time in series history. Most recently USM rallied past UTEP, 60-53, in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Feb. 25.

This is the fourth time that UTEP is locking up with Southern Miss at the Conference USA Championships, but the first occasion that the match-up is being held in the opening round. In 2014 USM downed UTEP, 80-74, in the semifinals. UTEP dispatched USM, 92-79, in the 2012 C-USA quarterfinals while also posting a win in the 2008 semis, 86-69.

HE SAID IT (COACH BAKER ON SOUTHERN MISS)
“We felt like we let the game at Southern Miss get away from us toward the end last week. So we feel great about our chances and our draw in the tournament. We feel we are playing our best basketball right now, and we are a very dangerous team to play in March.”

GETTING TO KNOW SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss got off to a 6-1 start on the season before going 2-4 over the next six games to conclude non-conference play at 8-5. After dropping their first two Conference USA contests, the Golden Eagles won three straight and five of seven to improve to 5-4 in league play.

They dropped the next four before claiming two of three to close out the regular season at 15-14, including 7-9 in C-USA action to earn the eighth seed at the C-USA Championships. Second-team All-Conference USA honoree Jayla King (15.5 ppg-7th C-USA/186th NCAA), Megan Brown (12.6 ppg-21st C-USA) and Shonte Hailes (12.4 ppg-22nd C-USA) key the USM attack.

King also leads the squad in rebounding (7.7-10th C-USA/172nd NCAA), offensive rebounds per game (2.9-tied 7th C-USA), defensive rebounds per game (4.8-13th C-USA) and steals (2.1-5th C-USA/132nd NCAA) while Hailes does so in assists (5.1 apg-2nd C-USA/52nd NCAA), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4-1st C-USA/34th NCAA), field-goal percentage (.526-4th C-USA) and 3-point percentage (.446-2nd C-USA). Amber Landing is the top shot blocker (1.5 bpg-4th C-USA/117th NCAA).

King is seventh in C-USA for field-goal percentage (.510) and 12th in the league at the charity stripe (.791). As a team Southern Miss is among the C-USA leaders and national top 100 for field-goal percentage (45.0-1st/31st), assists per game (15.1-2nd/78th), steals per game (9.0-3rd/86th), rebound margin (+3.8-4th-90th), turnovers forced (17.2-4th/99th) and free-throw percentage (72.7-6th/89th).

The Lady Eagles have struggled with defending the 3-point shot (34.5-13th/307th), 3-pointers made per game (4.1-13th/318th), turnovers per game (18.3-14th/301st) and committing fouls (20.1-14th/319th). Notable Southern Miss alumni include Jimmy Buffett (singer, songwriter and actor), Brett Favre (three-time NFL MVP QB & future Hall of Famer) and Robert L. Stewart (former NASA astronaut).

LAST MEETING WITH SOUTHERN MISS (at Southern Miss 60, UTEP 53, 2/25/18)
Tamara Seda notched her 13th double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds) of the season but homestanding Southern Miss made a late run to clip the Miners, 60-53, in Hattiesburg on Feb. 25, 2018. The Miners led 50-47 with 6:14 remaining in regulation only to have the Lady Eagles close the contest on a 13-3 surge to hand UTEP its fifth straight setback.

Those losses have been by a combined 19 points. UTEP connected on 43.2 percent (19-44) to USM’s 41.1 percent (23-56) and easily controlled the boards (39-23) but the home side nailed nine 3-pointers and forced 24 Miner turnovers that led to 35 points. Seven of the giveaways came in the final 6:14 of the contest to fuel the USM comeback, including five straight possessions during the first three minutes of the sequence.

The Orange and Blue led for nearly 25 minutes, and were up by seven (47-40) late in the third quarter only to have the Lady Eagles rally. The game figured five ties and three lead changes. Jordan Alexander joined Seda in double figures with 10 points while four other Miners scored between six-eight points each.

USM was paced by a 22-point outburst by Megan Brown, including going 6-10 from distance. Shonte Hailes and Jayla King each netted 10 points.

CONFERENCE TOURNEY QUICK HITTERS
UTEP stand 16-24 all time in conference tournament play (12-10 in C-USA; 4-14 as a member of WAC) … dispatched in the first round last year vs. ODU, 80-70, but hasn’t been one and done in consecutive league championships since joining C-USA … played in the quarterfinal round in nine of their previous 12 trips to the C-USA Championships; only three times to not compete beyond the first round (either with a first-round win or bye) was 2006, 2015 and 2017 … advanced to the league semifinals in four of the past six years, five times total since joining C-USA and eight occasions in program history (WAC- 1993, 1995 and 2004; C-USA 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016) … played in the championship contest twice (2008 and 2012), winning it all in 2012 … seeded ninth for the third time (2003-WAC & 2011-C-USA) with a previous combined record of 1-2 in the situation … all seven returnees have competed at the C-USA Championships … Tamara Seda (20.0 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 4,3 rpg, 1.3 bpg and 0.7 spg-3 GP/1 GS) and Najala Howell (13.3 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 0,7 rpg and 1.0 apg-3 GP/1 GS) are making their third appearance in the event while it will be the second showing at the tourney for Faith Cook (6.0 mpg-1.0 spg-1 GP), Roeshonda Patterson (3.0 mpg, 3.0 ppg-1GP), Zuzanna Puc (16.0 mpg-6.0 ppg, 2.0 bpg-1 GP), Rachel Tapps (2.0 mpg) and Katarina Zec (24.0 mpg-2.0 ppg, 1.0 apg-1 GP/1 GS).

 

 

FRISCO, Tx – UTEP and UTSA have squared off twice this season.  In the first game in San Antonio, the Miners couldn’t hold on to a 21-5 lead.  In the second game in El Paso, they couldn’t withstand a couple of long scoring droughts.

The end result was a pair of four-point losses – 65-61 at the Convocation Center and 63-59 at the Haskins Center.  On Wednesday, on the biggest of stages, the Miners and the Roadrunners will do battle one more time in the first round of the Conference USA Championships presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco.

Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. MT (6:30 CT), and the game will be streamed on Facebook.  Fans can also listen to the English radio broadcast on KOFX 92.3 FM (pregame show starts at 5 MT), or the Spanish broadcast on ESPN Deportes 1650 AM.

In two games versus the Roadrunners, the Miners shot 37.9 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from outside and 57.4 percent from the line.  They were also crushed on the glass (-12.0 rebound margin).  Improving their offensive efficiency and board work will be crucial on Wednesday night.

“We’ve got to do a couple of things better,” UTEP Interim Head Coach Phil Johnson said.  “The game in San Antonio came down to the last shot and we didn’t get a shot off.  We turned it over.  We were right there.  We played well.  We had a [16-point] lead early.

“At home, I thought we just didn’t score enough points against their zone.  Sixty-something [points] probably is not enough to beat San Antonio.  I think 70 is the magic number, or thereabouts.”

For all their struggles this season – they bring an 11-19 mark into the C-USA Tourney – the Miners have won four of their last six and have thrived in close games of late.  They won by one point at Charlotte on Feb. 15 (87-86), and by two points over LA Tech at home on Feb. 22 (74-72) and, more recently, at North Texas on Saturday (68-66) in a game that clinched a berth in the C-USA Championships.  Playing well at the end of the season and winning tight affairs can certainly be a recipe for success in postseason play.

“We’re coming off probably our most complete game of the season against North Texas, our most convictive game in terms of defending and running and executing our stuff,” Johnson said.  “I think our guys are in a good place, we’re all in a good place and ready to go.

“I expect this will be a close game.  Both of the previous two have been four-point games, so we’re expecting another tight one.  I know they’re going to really execute.  Both teams will play extremely hard.  UTSA is a tremendous offensive rebounding team, so we’ve got to get better at that area.  But it will be a hard, hard fought game, and I think a great college basketball game.”

UTSA (18-13) will look a little different this time around with star freshman and leading scorer Jhivvan Jackson (18.4 ppg) out for the season with a knee injury.  The Roadrunners have won two and lost one without him in the lineup.  In his absence, junior guard Deon Lyle has stepped up and scored 33 points in the Roadrunners’ 79-60 win at Rice on Saturday.  Johnson said UTSA is doing a few things different offensively without Jackson.

“This late in the season, to alter your entire scheme and offense probably isn’t going to happen,” he said.  “They’ve changed a few things to get Lyle more shots.  So we’ll have to pay special attention to him.  I’m sure they’ve added a couple of sets, as we have in getting ready for them.”

The Miners have advanced in the Conference USA Tournament in each of the last eight years and nine of the last 10.  As the 12th seed, they’ll have to do so as a decided underdog in 2018.  But they have confidence, and that’s a great place to start.

“My initial thought [with UTSA] was when you’ve lost twice in two close games, people say it’s difficult to beat someone three times,” Johnson said.  “I don’t know if I buy into that.  It’s just another opportunity for our team to go prove that we’re better than they are and that we didn’t play particularly well in either game.  I give [UTSA] a ton of credit.  They are a well-coached, hard-playing team and our guys are ready to go.  We’re really eager to get going.  I think we’ll have a good crowd here with all the Dallas UTEP alumni.  So it should be a really exciting night.”