Randy Culpepper scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as Texas-El Paso cruised to an 82-71 victory over visiting Texas Tech on Saturday night.

UTEP (8-2), which won its fifth straight, shot 47.5 percent from the field and played tough defense. The Miners dealt Texas Tech (5-5) its fifth loss in six games, and held the Red Raiders to 39.7 percent shooting from the field. The Miners scored 19 points off Texas Tech turnovers.

The teams exchanged the lead several times in the first half before UTEP’s Christian Polk hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left before halftime to give the Miners a lead they would not relinquish. Texas Tech closed the deficit to 71-66 with 2:17 left before UTEP finished the game with an 11-5 run.

Mike Singletary scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Brad Reese had 16 points and six rebounds for Texas Tech.