EL PASO, Texas (KFOX 14, CBS 4) —
The UTEP Miners are heating up at the right time.
Winners of three of their last four games, UTEP is building momentum as March approaches and head coach Joe Golding says his team has finally discovered its identity on both ends of the floor.
“Defensively we are still scheming, so it isn’t the old UTEP defense,” Golding said. “But, we are being more physical and guarding better. To play defense at this level you have to have all five guys on the same page. At times this year we would have three guys, but not the other two. Now we have more consistency being on the same page. Offensively, we have all these sets that are flowing together and the sets now fit our personell.”
Over the past few weeks, that confidence has only continued to grow. Players say the improved chemistry off the floor is translating directly into better execution and results on it.
“I feel really good and everyone has started to come into their own,” UTEP forward Elijah Jones said. “We’ve been lifting each other up. When someone misses a shot, we haven’t been negative. Instead positive and saying ‘shoot the next one.'”
On Saturday, UTEP hosts CUSA leaders Liberty, one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation. The Flames can light it up from beyond the arc, averaging 10.5 made threes per game. Containing the Flame attack with be critical on Saturday and the Miners say that their defense is the key to defending home court.
“We have to get in their grill and pressure them,” UTEP guard Caleb Blackwell said. “We have to force them to take shots they don’t want to take.”
Golding compared the style of Liberty’s experienced offense to the Golden State Warriors.
“You get so concerned with their threes and then they kill you in the paint,” he said. “You can’t let them get away from you on the perimeter, but it is those points in the paint that you really have to defend.”
Tip off on Saturday between the Miners and the Flames is at 12pm at the Don Haskins Center.