Rice University
8-17, 3-8
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UTEP
16-9, 7-4
UTEP Slips Past Rice, 67-58
2/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2009
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HOUSTON - Stefon Jackson scored 23 points and Randy Culpepper came off the bench to finish with 20 as UTEP defeated Rice 67-58 Wednesday in Tudor Fieldhouse.
UTEP closed out both halves strong including a 10-3, second-half run that put the Miners out in front 61-53 with 2:23 to play in the game.
The Owls had rallied to take a 50-48 lead on a Trey Stanton layin before the Miners went on their run. Stanton, who registered a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double and scored 20 points for the second straight game, helped push Rice back into the lead after the Owls trailed 46-38 with just over 12 minutes to play. He sparked the Owls' comeback with a dunk on a pass from Rodney Foster following a timeout.
But Culpepper and Jackson teamed for a run that put the Miners out in front for good.
Culpepper made a three-pointer with 6:54 to play that put UTEP back in front, 51-50 with 6:54 left. From there, the Miners made 6-of-8 free throws, Arnett Moultrie had a dunk and Stefon Jackson floated a jumper that extended UTEP's lead to eight points.
The first half featured seven ties and five lead changes. The final tie in the half came on a Foster layup with 2:37 to play in the period.
UTEP would close out the half with an 8-2 run to take a 34-28 lead into intermission. Tied 26-26, the Miners regained the lead on a Tavaris Watts putback before Moultrie extended the lead with an offensive board and another putback. After a Stanton jumper, Julyan Stone made two free throws to again give UTEP a four-point lead. After a missed three-pointer by Connor Frizzelle, Moultrie took a pass from Culpepper and got loose for a dunk with four seconds left in the half.
While the Miners shot 37 percent from the field, they went to the free throw line more than twice as many times as Rice. Culpepper was 8-of-9 at the line, Jackson was 7-of-9 and UTEP made 23-of-30 as a team. Rice was 11-of-13.
Moultrie added 11 points and had nine rebounds for UTEP. Foster finished with 15 points and had a game-high six assists for the Owls.
With the win, UTEP improved to 16-9 and 7-4 heading into Saturday's home game with nationally-ranked Memphis. Rice, now 8-17 and 3-8, travels to SMU on Saturday.
