Feb. 21, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery by Ivan Pierre Aguirre 
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EL PASO, TEXAS - The UTEP men's basketball team was dropped by UCF, 74-68, inside the Don Haskins Center Monday afternoon. Randy Culpepper poured in 25 points to pace the Miners (20-7, 8-4 C-USA), who had their 15-game Conference USA home winning streak halted.
The Knights (17-9, 4-9 C-USA) shot 67 percent in the first half, including 6-of-11 from three-point range, on the way to building a 39-25 lead at the break. It marked UTEP's largest halftime deficit of the 2010-11 season.
UCF scored the first five points of the second stanza to push its advantage out to 19 (44-25) before the Miners picked up their intensity in an effort to get back into the game. The result was a 19-8 run to slice the deficit down to a manageable eight points (52-44) with 10:02 to play, but UCF had an answer. It scored eight straight points over the next five-plus minutes, effectively wiping out the home side's aspiration of a come-from-behind victory.
Julyan Stone tallied 16 points, including nine via the triple, while Jeremy Williams pitched in 15 to join Culpepper in double figures. UTEP connected on 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor, including a stout 50 percent (15-of-30) in the second half. The Miners out-scored the Knights by a count of 36-24 in points in the paint, while also enjoying an edge of 19-7 in points off turnovers.
It was a balanced attacked for UCF, with six different players registering eight or more points. Keith Clanton notched a double-double (15 points, 13 boards) to lead his squad, with Marcus Jordan (13 points) and P.J. Gaynor (10 points) hitting double digits as well.
The Knights won the battle of the boards (36-30) while drilling 22-of-28 at the free-throw line, to help compensate for 18 turnovers. UCF made just seven field goals in the second half, but still finished at 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the floor for the game.
"Credit UCF for the great job it did today," UTEP head coach Tim Floyd said. "UCF came in here and shot it exceedingly well in the first half. Today could be a great awakening for this basketball team. There are no easy nights in this league, and UCF out-played us today. The crowd was just tremendous. I can't thank them enough."
The two teams traded baskets early on before UCF used a 6-0 run to stake an 11-5 advantage with 17:29 to play in the period. The Miners countered with a 7-2 push to pull even, with a John Bohannon free throw capping the sequence. The Knights struck back with a 9-4 run to jump out by five (22-17) at 9:14.
Culpepper drilled a long two to regain the momentum for UTEP, but it was short lived. UCF rattled off 11 straight points to grab its first double-digit lead of the tilt (30-19) with 6:48 left in the half. Culpepper halted the sequence with a driving lay-up only to have the Knights respond with a 9-2 surge. The Miners pulled within 14 (39-25) heading into the locker room, thanks to Culpepper going coast-to-coast on a lay-up to beat the buzzer.
UCF opened up the second half with a flurry, scoring five straight to put the Miners in the aforementioned 19-point hole (44-25) following an old-fashioned three-point play by Clanton. UTEP regrouped to register six straight points, including four by Williams, to start the comeback bid.
UCF knocked down a couple of free throws to go back up by 15. The Miners responded with a 13-6 surge to whittle the deficit down to single digits (52-44) for the first time since the visitors led, 30-21, with 5:29 to go in the first half. The Knights regained control of the contest with eight straight points, with the final six coming from Clanton.
The Miners made one final push, using an 11-4 run to get within nine (67-58) with 2:01 to play. UCF took care of business at the free-throw line down the stretch, though.
UTEP will be back in action when it plays at East Carolina at 5 p.m. MST Wednesday.
