UTEP visits Liberty following Watson’s 20-point game

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2026.

UTEP Miners (6-11, 2-4 CUSA) at Liberty Flames (14-3, 6-0 CUSA)

Lynchburg, Virginia; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UTEP visits Liberty after Kaseem Watson scored 20 points in UTEP’s 70-69 win over the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.

The Flames are 9-0 in home games. Liberty has a 3-1 record in one-possession games.

The Miners are 2-4 in CUSA play. UTEP allows 72.4 points to opponents while being outscored by 2.6 points per game.

Liberty makes 52.3% of its shots from the field this season, which is 7.4 percentage points higher than UTEP has allowed to its opponents (44.9%). UTEP has shot at a 42.8% clip from the field this season, 0.7 percentage points higher than the 42.1% shooting opponents of Liberty have averaged.

The Flames and Miners square off Saturday for the first time in CUSA play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brett Decker Jr. is shooting 49.6% from beyond the arc with 3.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Flames, while averaging 17.6 points. Kaden Metheny is shooting 43.4% and averaging 12.3 points over the past 10 games.

Watson averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Miners, scoring 12.5 points while shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc. Jamal West is shooting 58.2% and averaging 13.6 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 9-1, averaging 77.9 points, 28.0 rebounds, 18.0 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.

Miners: 3-7, averaging 66.7 points, 31.7 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press