UTEP tops Austin Peay in opening round of SoCal Challenge, 71-63; Miners improve to 4-0

( Courtesy: UTEP Sports).

EL PASO, Texas - Tae Hardy went off for a season-high 25 points as the UTEP guys's basketball team published a wire-to-wire 71-63 success versus Austin Peay in front of nearly 5,000 fans Friday evening.

Zid Powell (14 points) joined him in double figures to assist the Miners secure their first 4-0 start to a season given that 2019-20 (5-0).

The video game became part of the SoCal Challenge, which the team will continue next week in the "Golden State.".

UTEP drilled 55.3 percent from the flooring (26-47), marking its fourth effort of at least 50 percent in as lots of games to start the project.

The Orange and Blue acquired 21 helps on 26 made field goals, led by Calvin Solomon's career-best seven helpers. Powell (career-most tying 6) and Hardy (five) also were unselfish with their play.

Noteworthy is that Hardy, who joined the team last year as a transfer from Southern Miss, had his most points in a UTEP uniform.

At the other end of the court the Miners restricted the Governors (2-2) to 40.0 percent (22-55), including just 30.0 percent (6-20) from beyond-the-arc.

UTEP likewise held a slight edge in rebounds (35-32), with Otis Frazier III setting the tone in the department.

He matched his career high with nine boards while tallying 8 points.

UTEP hammered Austin Peay in the paint (38-20) and had a 14-3 benefit in fastbreak points.

That helped it get rid of 21 rebounds and a readout of 14-31 at the charity stripe.

" First of all, credit to Austin Peay," UTEP head coach Joe Golding stated. "I believed they played their butts off tonight. They played hard. They were a starving team. I believed they were a tougher group tonight in all elements of the game. I'm going to take the hit. We did not have our team prepared.

" I thought the defense stepped up," Golding stated. "We invest so much time and pride ourselves on the defensive side of the ball. We held them to 63 points so we provided ourselves a possibility to win.".

The Miners caught the Governors from the suggestion, with Powell burying a trey on the opening possession on a feed from Hardy.

After a steal from Solomon, he found Powell who hammered it home with a thunderous dunk to make it 5-0 UTEP 32 seconds into the game. As it turned out, the Orange and Blue would never route from that point.

It was back-and-forth over the next couple of minutes with the differential still at 5 before a Solomon complimentary throw was followed by a Hardy triple.

The little push paid for the Orange and Blue their then largest lead of the verse (15-6, 15:19, 1H).

After Austin Peay cut the margin 3, UTEP caught fire by swindling 10 straight points. It was sustained by the Miners' defense, with the Governors being bothered into three turnovers in the stretch that UTEP transformed into scores.

Jon Dos Anjos started it with a lay-up from a take by Elijah Jones. Hardy then sliced through the defense for another driving lay-up, this time with Dos Anjos starting things with the theft.

After a stop, Powell split a set of free tosses.

The Miners then required another misfire, and Powell found a cutting Frazier III for the slam to bring the crowd to its feet.

Powell then selected off a pass and rattled the rim with a one-handed dunk. The surge was topped off by a Solomon complimentary throw, affording the Miners a 13-poiint cushion (25-12, 10:03 1H).

Neither team might string together any sustainable rise throughout the remainder of the half, and UTEP entered into the locker room leading by 11 (38-27).

The Governors tallied the very first 5 points after the break, trimming the Miners' result in six (38-32, 17:45 2H). It was down to 5 (43-38, 14:40, 2H), however UTEP had a response.

Powell finished a hoop and damage from Solomon for the old-fashioned three-point play.

The Miners then got out in transition after a misfire by Austin Peay, as Hardy drained pipes the 3-pointer from the corner on the pass from Frazier III.

The visitors never ever threatened from that point on, with UTEP igniting the Haskins Center a number of times with alley-oops and nice finds in traffic to preserve a healthy cushion.

UTEP will continue play in the SoCal Challenge by venturing to San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where it will deal with Pac-12 member Cal at 9:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. MT on Monday (Nov. 20).

The contest will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso. It will also be carried nationally on CBS Sports Network.