Nov. 18, 2009
Final Stats
Final Stats (PDF) 
UTEP outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-33 after falling behind 19-8 in the first 13 minutes en route to a 70-52 rout of the Golden Lions on Wednesday at the Don Haskins Center.
The Miners improved to 2-0 for the seventh year in a row in large part due to a stellar defensive effort in the second half. UTEP limited UAPB to 21 points and 25.9 percent shooting in the second stanza.
A 19-4 run wiped away the 11-point deficit and put UTEP ahead 27-23 on a jumper by Christian Polk with 5:17 remaining in the first half. Polk jump-started the Miners early for the second straight game, scoring 11 of his 15 points prior to halftime.
"We got off to a slow start," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. "We had bad energy, but we found a way to pick it up."
The Miners went to a zone defense following the hot start by UAPB (0-3).
"The zone turned the game around for us," Barbee said. "It forced them to play around the three-point line and not in the paint."
UTEP was ahead 37-31 at the break, then extended its lead to as many as 19 points in the second half in running away with the victory.
Randy Culpepper scored 17 points, and Arnett Moultrie and Jeremy Williams chipped in with 12 apiece for the Miners, who committed only six turnovers. It marked the eighth straight home game that UTEP has had 13 turnovers or less dating back to last season. The Miners have had single-digit giveaways in five of the eight contests.
UTEP finished with 20 assists, including six from Stone and five from Polk.
"We are an unselfish team, sometimes to a fault, but we're really sharing the ball," Barbee said.
UTEP made 9-of-20 three point shots, with Culpepper going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Lebaron Weathers had a double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds) for Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
UTEP will host Arkansas State on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
