Feb. 21, 2009
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UTEP-Memphis Box Score (PDF) 
UTEP had fifth-ranked Memphis on the ropes in the first half, but the Tigers showed why they haven't lost a Conference USA game in nearly three years in the second period.
With Tyreke Evans scoring 16 of his game-high 25 points after the break, the Tigers (24-3, 12-0 C-USA) extended their C-USA winning streak to 54 games with a 70-63 win over the Miners on Saturday afternoon at the Haskins Center.
Memphis outscored UTEP (16-10, 7-5 C-USA) 43-33 in the second half. The Miners led 30-27 at the midway point, holding the Tigers to 32 percent shooting from the field. They couldn't sustain the defensive effort for the full 40 minutes, however, as Memphis shot a blistering 59.1 percent from the floor in the second stanza.
UTEP's three-point halftime lead was lost in the first minute and two seconds of the second half. After Shawn Taggart dunked 28 seconds in to make the score 30-29, Evans scored a layup with 18:58 to play to put the Tigers ahead 31-30.
Tavaris Watts gave UTEP the lead back on a three pointer with 18:28 remaining before Memphis went on a 16-5 run to build a 47-38 cushion with 13:02 to go.
Memphis' lead stayed at six points or more until Stefon Jackson scored a layup with 4:18 left to cut the visitors' advantage to 57-52. Evans responded with back-to-back jumpers for the Tigers, but UTEP wasn't done.
Randy Culpepper's three pointer with 40 seconds left sliced the deficit to 67-63, and the Miners had a chance to draw closer after Evans missed two free throws before a roaring crowd of 11,659. But Culpepper missed a three pointer with 16 seconds left and Memphis scored the next three points at the foul line to complete the scoring.
UTEP shot 50 percent in the first half but was only 9-for-29 from the floor (31 percent) in the second period. Jackson was 6-for-8 in the first half and 5-for-17 in the second half on his way to 24 points. Culpepper got only four shots in the second half after taking eight in the first half and finished with 13 points. Watts chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
Antonio Anderson scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Tigers.
The Miners will host SMU on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. MST.
