Senior guard Randy Culpepper led UTEP with 32 points in a 74-72 victory over New Mexico State on Tuesday night.
Culpepper scored 25 in the first half. He was 10 of 20 from the field and 5 of 10 from 3-point range for the Miners (5-2), who shot 50 percent. Claude Britten added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Troy Gillenwater led the Aggies with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Christian Kabongo added 13 points.
New Mexico State (2-5) trailed by 12, but Hernst Laroche trimmed it to 70-67 with 54.2 seconds left. UTEP went 4 of 6 from the foul line in the final 12.1 seconds to secure the win.
Culpepper scored 14 straight and 16 of UTEP's final 20 points of the first half for a 40-35 lead. He went 8 of 12 in the first half; the rest of the team was 7 of 12.
