Miners defeat Red Raiders 96-78, first home win since 1992

El Paso—Stefon Jackson and Randy Culpepper combined for 55 points as the Miners defeated the Red Raiders 96-78 Wednesday night at the Don Haskins Center.

This marked the first time in the post-Haskins era that the Miners have defeated the Red Raiders at home and the first time since 1992.

"This is the second game this year (that) we've had forty minutes of complete effort by everybody that we put in," head coach Tony Barbee said. "Did we have some breakdowns? Absolutely did, but we did not let that affect anything we did – play to play."

Texas Tech scored the first two points of the game on a layup made by D'Walyn Roberts. It would be the only time in the game the Red Raiders would lead as the Miners outscored them 43-32 in the first half. UTEP at one time during the first half saw their lead swell to 11 points at the 12-minute mark until the Miners ended the half with on a 8-4 run, leading 43-34.

The second half, which was a carbon copy of the first in terms of offense and defensive intensity, saw the Miners go on a 21-to-10 run that would swell the Miner lead to 27 points, a game high, at the eight-minute mark. The Miners would keep the intensity up the rest of game onto their 18-point victory.

The Miners shot 51.6 percent from the floor and an equally impressive 73.3 percent from the free throw line. Three Miners recorded double figures in the first half, which included Culpepper and Arnett Moultrie who scored 10 points and Jackson had 12 points, eight of those points came from the charity stripe.

The Miners welcome New Mexico State to the Don Haskins Center Dec. 20 in the second installment of the Battle of I-10 series. Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m.

Miner Notes

• With the win UTEP breaks a seven-game losing streak to Texas Tech that all fell under the helm of Hall of Fame Coach Bobby Knight.

• Stefon Jackson becomes the 21st player in UTEP history to score over 1000 points and record 500 rebounds.

• Julyan Stone tied his career high for assists with 11 in the game.

Eddie Delgado is a staff writer for MinerDigs.net. He can be reached at eadelgad@miners.utep.edu .