Keith Clanton scored 15 points to go along with 13 rebounds and Central Florida defeated UTEP 74-68 Monday, dropping the Miners from first to a tie for third in Conference USA.
Marcus Jordan added 13 points and P.J. Gaynor had 10 to help the Knights (17-9, 4-9) end UTEP's 15-game home winning streak.
Randy Culpepper scored 25 points to lead the Miners (20-7, 8-4), who are tied with Memphis and Tulsa and are a half game behind Southern Mississippi and Alabama-Birmingham with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Central Florida pulled away midway through the first half with a 17-6 run to take a 30-19 lead with 6:48 remaining and led the rest of the way. The Knights pushed their advantage to 19 in the second half before the Miners closed the gap late.
Julyan Stone added 16 points for UTEP, and Jeremy Williams had 15.
