Miners rout Red Raiders
BY JEFF WALKER
A-J SPORTS EDITOR
EL PASO — Texas Tech has had defensive problems in the second half of games this season, but against Texas-El Paso on Wednesday, the Red Raiders didn’t wait until the second half.
The Miners built an 11-point halftime lead, then used a strong push in the second half to cruise to a 96-78 victory at the Don Haskins Center.
“We’ve got to start guarding people,” Tech head coach Pat Knight said. “There’s not one guy in that (locker) room that can tell us that they can guard somebody. It doesn’t matter what defense we’re in, we get driven.
“They’ve got to hold each other accountable. We’ve got guys that are chirping at other guys and they’re not getting it done. They’ve got to look at themselves. I don’t want any team meeting or anything like that. They’ve got to look each other in the mirror and figure out what’s wrong.”
After neither team came out with an impressive start to the second half, UTEP head coach Tony Barbee slammed a clipboard — splitting it in half — during a timeout. The Miners responded with an alley-oop dunk by Arnett Moultrie that ignited the crowd and the players.
UTEP increased its nine-point halftime lead to 15 in the next two minutes, then went on a 13-5 run over the next three minutes to lead 76-53 with 10:31 remaining.
By that time, the Red Raiders had a collective look of defeat on their faces and many players from both teams were just trying to score to pad their statistics.
“We can score points,” Knight said. “We’d better start guarding people. We can’t just keep thinking we’re going to out-gun people.”
After a 44-point loss last season at Texas A&M, Knight put the team through military-style drills, using tires instead of basketballs to get his point across. Knight said he didn’t think the team could afford to go through a workout like that now with its third game this week on Saturday against New Mexico.
“I don’t know what more we do,” Knight said. “We’ve done every defensive drill, broken down everything for them. It’s not an X and O thing, it’s a brain and heart thing.”
UTEP (5-4) beat Tech for the first time since 2000, and the Miners beat Tech in El Paso for the first time since 1992.
Long before the teams padded their stats, John Roberson and Damir Suljagic were the lone bright spots for the Red Raiders (7-3).
Roberson finished with a career-high 33 points and nine assists, while Suljagic had his most productive game of the season, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Stefon Jackson led UTEP with 28 points, while Randy Culpepper added 27.
The Red Raiders played shorthanded again as starting guard Nick Okorie (ankle) and reserve forward Michael Prince (foot) remained in Lubbock with injuries.
The Miners built an 11-point lead in the first half, but the Red Raiders kept the game close. Though Tech kept it close, UTEP never lost control because the Red Raiders committed 10 turnovers.
After trimming the deficit to 27-25 with 6:59 remaining in the first half, Mike Singletary nonchalantly flipped a pass to D’walyn Roberts that resulted in a turnover. Tyree Graham was called for a five-second violation — his third turnover in the first half — and Trevor Cook threw away a pass that resulted in a turnover.
Darko Cohadarevic, in his first possession back in the game, committed a turnover and Suljagic, who had a good first half, was called for traveling. Five of Tech’s 10 first-half turnovers came in the final five minutes.
The careless play allowed UTEP to get its lead back to a comfortable margin. Culpepper turned a Tech turnover into a dunk, he later added a layup and the Miners used four free throws to take a 43-34 lead into the break.
Suljagic, receiving his first significant playing time of the season, responded with eight points and six rebounds in 13 minutes before halftime.
Cook and Robert Lewandowski were in foul trouble throughout the opening half. Cook picked up his second foul at the 16:29 mark. He returned briefly later in the half. Lewandowski picked up two fouls in just three minutes and did not play the rest of the half.
The Miners were led by three players in double figures in the first half — Jackson (12), Culpepper (10) and Moultrie (10).
To comment on this story:
jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com uE074 766-8735
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