Dec. 6, 2008
Final Stats
UTEP-SHSU Box Score (PDF) 
Stefon Jackson posted the eighth 30-point game of his collegiate career on Saturday, leading UTEP to a come-from-behind 83-72 victory over Sam Houston State at the Don Haskins Center.
The Miners (4-3), coming off a six-day break from games, were sluggish early and trailed 42-35 at the half. UTEP fell behind by as many as 11 points before turning a 59-51 deficit into a 65-61 lead with a 14-2 run.
After Barkley Falkner drew the Bearkats (2-5) to within a point, 65-64, on a three pointer with 5:31 remaining, the Miners scored the next six points for a 71-64 cushion and maintained at least a four point lead the rest of the way.
"That team has the second-most wins of any program in the state of Texas over the last eight years, behind Texas," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. "They've been in the NCAA Tournament. We expected it to be a hard-fought, contested game."
Jackson finished 9-for-14 from the field, 2-for-2 from three point range and 10-for-11 from the line and moved closer to passing Antoine Gillespie into second place on UTEP's all-time scoring list. Jackson now has 1,700 career points, six behind Gillespie who scored 1,706 from 1992-95.
Jackson also moved past Marquette's Brian Wardle and Travis Diener on Saturday into ninth place on the all-time Conference USA scoring chart. Charlotte's Jobey Thomas is eighth with 1,737 points.
Randy Culpepper and Arnett Moultrie each scored 13 points for the Miners, and Moultrie had 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
"Arnett is like putting water on a weed," Barbee said. "When you put water on a weed, it just keeps growing and growing. I couldn't be happier about his progress."
UTEP outscored Sam Houston State 48-30 in the second half, had a 31-20 rebounding edge in the frame and allowed only four fast break points after halftime. The Bearkats had a 13-2 advantage in fast break scoring at the midway point.
Lance Pevehouse scored a career-high 23 points for Sam Houston State, including five three point field goals.
The Miners will be off for finals week before returning to action on Sunday, Dec. 14 at I-10 rival New Mexico State.
