Box Score
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EL PASO, Texas. – Kennesaw State's three-game win streak came to a halt Saturday night, as the Owls' last second shot was just off the mark, allowing UTEP to escape with a 73-71 victory in Conference USA men's basketball action from the Don Haskins Center. The loss dropped KSU to 12-8 overall, 4-3 in league action, while the Miners moved into a tie for first place with a 5-2 mark (15-5 overall).
STAT OF THE GAME: The Miners were almost perfect at the line in the second half, hitting 10-of-12 for 83.3%, while the Owls made just 8-of-12, including missing a pair of crucial free throws late in the contest.
THE FIRST HALF: KSU held an early 10-5 lead before the Miners reeled off 16 of the game's next 19 points. They took their largest lead of the game, 27-18, on a pair of free throws with 6:52 on the clock. The Owls then found their offense, scoring 23 points over the final 6:34 of the half. A three-pointer from Simeon Cottle, his third in a three-minute span, followed by a Jamil Miller three-pointer play put the Owls up 37-30 with 1:55 on the clock, while Andre Weir scored at the buzzer for a 41-37 edge going into halftime.
THE SECOND HALF: The teams played even for the first six minutes of the second stanza, with a pair of Cottle free throws putting KSU up 54-47. A 9-0 spurt gave the lead back to the home team, though Weir tied the game on the next play for a 56-56 contest at the 9:42 mark. Back-to-back baskets would give UTEP the lead for good, but KSU stayed within two possessions the rest of the way. Down 70-65, Miller scored on a layup while Braedan Lue added a dunk to make it a one-point game with 1:23 to play. Both teams then traded baskets on the next two possessions, and with UTEP holding a 72-71 lead, the Miners grabbed an offensive rebound and hit one of two at the line with 13 seconds left. KSU came down with one more chance but the Cottle was forced to rush a three-point attempt that would not fall for the visitors.
NOTES
- Cottle led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 4-of-9 from three-point range.
- Also in double-figures was Lue with 14, Miller with 12 and Weir with 10.
- KSU lost despite shooting 46% (26-of-57) from the floor and holding the Miners to just 42% (26-of-62). Both teams finished 29% from three-point range.
- UTEP finished with a 24-10 edge on points off turnovers after forcing 21 and coming up with 13 steals.
- KSU meanwhile won the battle of the boards 43-30, and held an 18-7 edge on second-chance points.
- This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are back in Kennesaw for a four-game home stand, starting with a Thursday, Jan. 30 contest against Liberty in the KSU Convocation Center. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network in the first meeting between the two schools since the 2023 Atlantic Sun championship game, won by the Owls in the Convo.
