East Carolina University
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UTEP
ECU Falls to UTEP
February 14, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2010
Complete Box Score in PDF Format 
EL PASO, Texas --- Junior Randy Culpepper scored 31 first half points on his way to a career-high 45 points as Conference USA leader UTEP pounced all over East Carolina, 100-76, on Saturday at the Don Haskins Center. Culpepper was 10-of-11 from the floor in the first half, including 6-of-7 from behind the arc.
UTEP won its ninth straight game and improved to 19-5 overall and 10-1 in league play while dropping the Pirates to 8-17, 2-9 in C-USA play.
Culpepper scored five straight points to push the Miners out to a 12-9 lead. Jontae Sherrod and Erin Straughn hit consecutive 3s to tie the game at 15-all before Corvonn Gaines hit a free throw to put the Pirates ahead, 16-15, with 12:52 to play.
UTEP then scored 13 unanswered points to seize control of the game. The Miners went ahead to stay on a 3-point play by Derrick Caracter followed by a 3 from Jeremy Williams and another five straight points from Culpepper.
After Straughn ended the 3:33 scoring drought, the Miners scored 15 consecutive points to extend its lead to 43-18 as they outscored the Pirates 28-2 over a six-minute stretch.
With the UTEP leading by 27 with five minutes to go in the half, Culpepper put on a show for the 11,794 fans in attendance. He scored the Miners' final 16 points of the half, making four consecutive 3s from inconceivable angles as UTEP built a 30-point halftime advantage, 63-33. It was the third time this season that ECU surrendered more than 60 points in a half.
UTEP made 23-of-36 (63.9 percent) of its field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, including 9-of-14 3-point attempts (64.3 percent).
Five of the Miners' first seven baskets of the second half came from behind the arc - three from Culpepper and one each from Caracter and Williams - as they stretched their lead to 38, 84-46, less than seven minutes into the period.
Culpepper finished the game 14-of-18 from the field and 9-of-12 from 3-point range.
The Miners' finished the game shooting 55.6 percent from behind the arc, hitting 15-of-27 long distance attempts. The Pirates also shot over 50 percent from 3-point range, making 9-of-18, four courtesy of Straughn who scored a career-high 18 points.
ECU shot over 50 percent from the field for a second straight game. The Pirates hit 25-of-49 shots (51.0 percent) after sinking 53.8 percent of its attempts earlier in the week against Tulane. It was only the second time this season that they shot over 50 percent in consecutive games.
After torching the nets in the opening half, the Miners cooled of in the second half, but still finished the game shooting a 56.9 clip (37-65). Caracter was the only other player besides Culpepper to net double figures as he scored 13 points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Julyan Stone dished out nine assists.
Brock Young scored 13 points and handed out seven assists in the loss for the Pirates, while Gaines came off the bench to net a career-best 10 points.
The Pirates will have a week off before returning to the court on Saturday, Feb. 20, against Rice. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CST start at Autry Court in Houston.
