UTEP basketball recap: UTEP uses stifling defense to top Southern Miss, 68-50

The Miners limit Golden Eagles to 37.5 percent shooting and force 25 turnovers in victory

CUSA Fans UTEP Correspondent Robert Robles brings you a recap of the basketball game between UTEP and Southern Miss.

The defense of the Miners was enough to suffocate the young Southern Miss squad. UTEP needed to rattle the Golden Eagles’ star point guard Jeremy Wise and that is exactly what they did. Wise, who has been USM’s playmaker all season, was held to only 10 points. With the 68-50 win at the Don Haskins Center on Wednesday night, the Miners improve to 11-7 (3-1) on the season, while the Golden Eagles drop to 11-5 (1-2).

The Miners did something that very few people thought they would be able to do, and that was outrebound Southern Miss. They finished with a 40 to 37 advantage on the glass and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. One of the leading rebounding teams in the conference was outrebounded by an undersized and guard oriented team.

Neither team shot well from the field, as Southern Miss shot only 37% from the field and UTEP a scanty 32%. Defense, which has been one of the only consistencies for the team this year, was primarily responsible for this win. The Miners, coming off of a 14 steal outing at Tulsa, made an impressive 13 steals on the night against the Golden Eagles.

Craig Craft led the Golden Eagles with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Jeremy Wise also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and 3 rebounds. Craft and Wise were the only two Eagles to reach double figures.

For UTEP, no starter played for more than 29 minutes. Stefon Jackson finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Corey Speight, Kevin Henderson, and Darren Clarke all tallied 9 points. A lack of successful post play may be the bane of this Miner team in away games. How many games can a young team win when only shooting 31% from the field? Defense may be the answer yet again.

Southern Miss heads to Birmingham on Saturday to take on UAB, who is 10-8 (2-2) on the season.

The Miners will now hit the road for two consecutive conference games. This coming Saturday they will be in Dallas to take on SMU, who is coached by first year coach Matt Doherty. Then, on Wednesday, UTEP will be in Houston to take on the Owls of Rice, who are coached by veteran head coach Willis Wilson.