UTEP Miners

Final Stats

UTEP 81, Incarnate Word 65 (Box Score) 

Vince Hunter registered his sixth double-double in eight games, and UTEP blew out to a big lead in the first half before fending off Incarnate Word, 81-65, on Monday night at the Don Haskins Center.

The Miners (5-3) utilized a 31-8 run to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 34-13 lead, their largest of the game, on their way to snapping a three-game losing streak.

Hunter scored all 11 of his first-half points during the run. Matt Willms scored all eight of his points during the spurt.

"We were hoping that we were scheduling a win when we did this," UTEP coach Tim Floyd. "I think everybody tries to get four or five of those. To begin the season we had an incredibly difficult stretch. But when we looked at Incarnate Word we got really concerned because they were second in the nation in scoring, they beat Princeton at Princeton, and they lost by a tip-in at the buzzer at Stephen F. Austin [last year]. They shot it really well all year long, 48 percent from the three. They were 6-for-25 tonight, which means our extended defense was better than it had been."

Hunter finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in 21 minutes. Earvin Morris scored 14 points, Lew Stallworth 13 and Julian Washburn 10 for the Miners. Stallworth scored in double figures for the first time as a Miner, and Hooper Vint matched his career-high with eight points.

Incarnate Word (5-1), which lost its first game of the season, came in averaging over 90 points per game. The Cardinals were led by Jontrell Walker, who scored 30 points.

The Miners crushed the much smaller Cardinals on the boards, 47-23, and outscored them 48-18 in the paint. The game was sloppy at times as UTEP committed a season-high 22 turnovers, allowing Incarnate Word to remain within striking distance.

"We got some solid play from some guys," Floyd said. "We turned it over too much which is a concern, something we've got to get better at. Cedrick [Lang] did a nice on #4 [Kyle Hittle], who was averaging 21 points per game. Vince had him in stretches too and he had five points tonight. It's nice to get back with a win."

The Cardinals chopped the 21-point lead down to 11 at halftime (40-29), and crept within nine points (48-39) five and a half minutes into the second half. UTEP put the game away with a 17-7 run. Miner newcomers combined to score 14 of the 17 points with Stallworth tallying eight, Morris four and Omega Harris two during the stretch.

The Miners will take an eight-day break between games before continuing their six-game homestand against Southeastern Louisiana next Tuesday (Dec. 16) at 7 p.m.