VolQuest.com - Miners beat Dukes 79-66 in tournament opener

December 30, 2008

Carlos M. Silva Jr.
MinerIllustrated.com

UTEP guard Randy Culpepper scored 30 points en route to a 79-66 victory against James Madison in the opening round of the Cable Car Classic held in Santa Clara, Calif.

The sophomore guard shot 10-for-17 (58 percent) from the floor and added an impressive 8-for-14 (57 percent) shooting performance from the 3-point line. Teammates Stefon Jackson and Gabriel McCulley added 13 points each. McCulley's 13 points was a career high for the sophomore guard.

Culpepper was the only player who scored in double digits (13) in the first half, which helped the Miners build a 34-24 lead at halftime.

The Miners (7-4) would build their lead up to 23, (51-28) at the 16:10 mark and not give up that up for the remainder of the game up to the 79-66 final score.

The Dukes (7-5) were led offensively by Julius Wells and Devon Moore, who each scored 13 points.

The Miners will play Tuesday against host Santa Clara (6-7), at 9 p.m. MST.

Miner Notes

- McCulley earned his first career start against the Dukes, and produced a career-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from the 3-point line.

- Jackson is 35 points away from passing UTEP's all-time career scoring record holder Brandon Wolfram. At his pace, 22.6 points per game, he should break the record Jan. 2 against UT-Pan American at the Don Haskins Center.

- UTEP will play against Santa Clara for the first time.

Carlos M. Silva Jr. is the publisher for MinerDigs.net. He can be reached at cmsilva@miners.utep.edu.

Tennessee NEWS

[More]

Latest Headlines:

Resources:

FEATURED PRODUCT