EL PASO, Texas – For the second time in as many tries in the Sun Bowl Invitational, the Norfolk State men's basketball team pulled off the upset of host UTEP. This time, the Spartans made 11 3-pointers and overcame foul trouble to win 75-62 on Friday evening at the Don Haskins Center.
 
The Spartans dressed just nine players and were down to six by the end of the game after three players fouled out, but they still shot 50 percent for the game for their second straight upset of the Miners. NSU defeated UTEP in 2015 to advance to the championship game.
 
The Spartans (5-8) will do the same on Saturday night, facing East Tennessee State for the tournament championship after the Buccaneers defeated Wyoming earlier in the day on Friday.
 
But against UTEP, NSU made 56 percent in the second half, part of a 24-of-48 overall effort. Sophomore Mastadi Pitt led the way with a career-high 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 4-of-5 from deep. He was one of just a few players never in foul trouble, as NSU had 33 fouls for the evening.
 
UTEP (4-6) fell despite a 40-23 advantage on the glass. The Miners made just 38 percent for the contest (17-of-45) and three 3-pointers on 19 attempts from beyond the arc. All three came off the hands of Evan Gilyard, who finished with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
 
The Spartans led most of the first half in addition to all of the second period. UTEP was within two early in the second half and still within five a little later before NSU went ahead by double digits for good.
 
Up six at the half, the Spartans extended it to nine on a trey from senior Derrik Jamerson Jr. at the top of the key. UTEP was within two points after buckets by Efe Odigie and Gilyard. Freshman C.J. Kelly, though, had a 3-point play and a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that made it 44-34 at the 13:30 mark.
 
After UTEP got to within five a few minutes later, Pitt made three free throws, and Jamerson had another trey to key the start of an 18-5 run. Jamerson had another trey, and freshman Joe Bryant Jr. finished a layup for a 62-44 edge.
 
The lead never went beyond 18, and UTEP only got as close as 12 with two and a half minutes left.
 
Jamerson made 3-of-5 from 3-point range as part of a 13-point night, all in the second half. Kelly also reached double figures with 10 points and three blocks. Along with senior Armani Branch, who also had three rejections, the Spartans held an 8-1 advantage in blocks.
 
Odigie tallied 18 points and nine rebounds for the Miners, and Nigel Hawkins added 15 points and five boards. Paul Thomas played a big part in UTEP's rebounding edge with 17, seven on the offensive side.
 
The game started off slow, and NSU scored five of the first seven points, all from Pitt. Treys from both freshman BJ Fitzgerald and Bryant made it just 13-7 after more than 12 minutes of play.
 
Gilyard's trey capped a 10-2 run for UTEP that tied the score at 17-17. Pitt then scored eight straight points for an eight-point edge, and Kelly's 3-ball made it 29-23 in favor of the Spartans heading into the half.
 
The Miners hit just 26 percent in the first period, while Pitt had 14 of his 24 points before the break.
 
Bryant made all four of his field goal attempts for a nine-point night.
 
UTEP sank 25-of-41 from the free throw line. The Miners also held a 12-3 edge in second-chance points, but they also turned it over 17 times leading to a 21-8 advantage for the Spartans in points off turnovers.