Arnett Moultrie (Image: Brian Kanoff)

The 2009-2010 men’s basketball campaign got off to a tremendous start as the UTEP Miners used an opportunistic defense to cage the Texas Southern Tigers at the Don Haskins Center this evening.

UTEP came out roaring in the first half with quick strikes from Randy Culpepper, transfer Christian Polk, and a stifling defense. “That was just adrenaline,” said junior guard Julyan Stone. “We were ready to play…Christian Polk, he hadn’t played in two years so, he was so anxious to get on the court.” Polk, who started in the absence of an injured Gabriel McCulley, finished the game with 12 points in 25 minutes of playing time.

Polk wasn’t the only Miner to get into the scoring action, 5 Miners scored in double digits and were led by Culpepper who finished the night with 22 points. Arnett Moultrie, Stone, and Jeremy Williams also finished in double figures for the evening. Moultrie, coming off an impressive summer stint with USA Basketball, recorded his 7th “double double” of his young UTEP career booking 17 points and 11 rebounds. Williams, who continues to win the hearts of the El Paso faithful with his hustle play, added 7 rebounds to a 18 point performance.

All wasn’t perfect in “Minerdom” as a lethargic Miner team allowed Texas Southern to cut a 22 point lead to 11 points at halftime. As improved the defense is starting to look, slow feet and rotation led to many easy Tiger conversions. “They made the plays but we backed up defensively,” recounted UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, “and we didn’t have that intensity, that stretch to finish the half so, now it’s a eleven (point spread) and they think they’re (Texas Southern) in the game.”

Although defense broke down for much of the middle part of the game, everything seems readily correctable. “It’s technique things, things we’ve been working on,” said Barbee. “We’ve got too many guys in what I call ‘opening the gate’ where the guy squares them up but then turn their body and give a driving lane to the basket. Some of these guys were taught something along the way and I have to erase their memory.”

On the other side of the court, Miner fans were treated to a different style of “Barbee Ball” yielding a favorable result.  Culpepper, a crowd favorite for his three-point shooting and thunderous dunks, practiced patience and discipline selecting more efficient spots to shoot the ball.  Culpepper’s approach, known more for his quick and somewhat erratic trigger, indicates the maturity and trust this team has developed over the summer.  Many fans expected the Memphis guard to carry the scoring load after the departure of UTEP all-time leading scorer, Stefon Jackson, but with help coming from all directions, he won’t have to go at it alone.  This type of “Barbee Ball” preaches distribution and discipline and an 89-point output indicates this team is going in the right direction.

The Miner basketball team took away a lot of positives from tonight’s performance but there are still areas to improve. Moultrie needs to work on keeping the ball high in the low post, rebounding was inconsistent, and the offense stalled for long stretches of the game. These areas of improvement are not earth shattering and given this is the first game of the season, there is a great foundation to build upon.

The mens’ basketball team will next host Arkansas Pine-Bluff November 18th at the Don Haskins Center.

Miner Illustrated Stats and Notes:

Leading Scorer – Randy Culpepper (22)

Leading Rebounder – Arnett Moultrie (11)

Shooting % – 49%

Free Throw % – 61%

Assist/Turnover ratio: 1.41

Pete’s Stat of the Game: 5 Miners in double digit scoring (Culpepper-22, Williams-18, Moultrie-17, Stone-14, Polk-12)

NOTES:

-Miners improve to 4-0 in season openers under Tony Barbee

-Miners improve series record against Texas Southern to 11-1

-UTEP improves their record against SWAC schools to 37-4

-9 Miners saw game action

-Freshman Marcus Ruppel leads UTEP in finger dislocations with two (2)