EL PASO — Randy Culpepper and Christian Polk scored 14 points each Tuesday night, leading Texas-El Paso to a 58-47 victory over Air Force in the championship game of the Sun Bowl Invitational.
Derrick Caracter grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points for the Miners (9-2). Michael Lyons scored 10 points to lead Air Force (7-5).
UTEP led 25-18 at halftime and built a 36-25 advantage with 14:42 remaining. The Falcons clawed as close as 38-36 with just under 10 minutes to play, but never came closer.
When UTEP was leading 50-44 with four minutes left, a layup by Polk sparked an 8-0 run that sealed the victory.
The Miners scored 18 points off the 16 turnovers Air Force committed. The Falcons converted 16 turnovers by UTEP into just four points.
