CONFERENCEUSA.COM - The Official Athletic site of The Conference USA

Jan. 12 Men's Basketball Recap
SMU, Southern Miss and UTEP Earn Conference Wins

	Randy Culpepper

Jan. 12, 2011

SMU, Southern Miss and UTEP all earned conference wins tonight. Southern Miss and UTEP both won on the road, while SMU defeated Memphis, 64-58, for the second year in a row at Moody Coliseum.

The Golden Eagles battled Rice into overtime, before coming out ahead 81-78. Reigning C-USA Player of the Week Randy Culpepper scored 22 of his game-high 26 points as UTEP handed Tulane its first conference loss, 69-58. The Green Wave entered the game on a six-game win streak and had been 8-0 at Fogelman Arena.

Tulsa played its final non-conference game of the regular season, falling 69-59 on the road to Arizona State.

Complete C-USA Standings and Results

Updated Statistics

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
UTEP 69, Tulane 58
SMU 64, Memphis 58
Southern Miss 81, Rice 78 (OT)
Arizona State 69, Tulsa 59

Conference Games in Bold.

C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL SHOOTING STARS

UTEP senior Randy Culpepper scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the first half to lead the Miners to a 69-58 win at Tulane. Three others scored in double-figures for UTEP: seniors Jeremy Williams (Memphis, Tenn.) with 13 points, Claude Britten (Baton Rouge, La.) added 12 and Christian Polk (Glendale, Ariz.) chipped in 10 points. Senior PG Julyan Stone (Goleta, Calif.) had a game-high 15 rebounds, five points and eight assists. He has now pulled to within just four more helpers to tie the C-USA career assists record.

The game snapped a six-game Tulane win streak and was the Green Wave's first loss at Fogelman Arena this season. Sophomore G/F Kendall Timmons (Fort Worth, Texas) paced the Green Wave with 20 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore G Jordan Callahan (Marietta, Ga.) added 12 points.

SMU senior Papa Dia (St. Louis, Senegal) registered his 19th career double-double and sixth of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mustangs to a 64-58 win over Memphis. It was the second year in a row the Mustangs beat Memphis at Moody Coliseum. Junior F Robert Nyakundi (Arlington, Texas) added 15 points. Senior transfer Collin Mangrum (Howe, Texas), who had averaged 2.3 ppg coming into the game, also came off the bench to score 15 points in 31 minutes. SMU was 9-of-16 from three-point range and the Mustang defense held the Tigers scoreless for more than 11 minutes. The Mustangs have now won eight of their last nine home games.

Memphis freshman Joe Jackson (Memphis, Tenn.) and junior Wesley Witherspoon (Atlanta, Ga.) combined for 26 points, with an 11-of-17 performance from the field.

Southern Miss senior F Gary Flowers (Dallas, Texas) led the Golden Eagles in scoring for the sixth-straight game and 12th time this season with 24 points in an 81-78 overtime win at Rice. Flowers also contributed eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks. He was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and the Golden Eagles were 17-of-20 at the stripe on the night. Sophomore G LaShay Page scored 15 points, while senior R.L. Horton (Jackson, Miss.) and freshman D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) each added 11.

Junior G Connor Frizzelle (Red Oak, Texas) came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points, but the Owls dropped their first overtime game of the season. Sophomore Tamir Jackson (Paterson, N.J.) scored 19 points, while junior F Lucas Kuipers (Rochester, Minn.) added 13 points and five rebounds. Sophomore F Arsalan Kazemi (Esfahan, Iran) chipped in 10 points and seven boards.

Tulsa senior G Justin Hurtt (Raytown, Mo.) scored a team-high 17 points, but the Golden Hurricane lost on the road to Arizona State, 69-59.

C-USA UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, January 15
Marshall at Memphis (CSS) - 11:00a
Houston at SMU (TW Texas) - 2:00p
Tulane at East Carolina - 4:00p
(22) UCF at Southern Miss - 4:00p
UAB at Tulsa - 7:05p
Rice at UTEP (TW Texas) - 8:05p

Monday, January 17
UAB at East Carolina - 6:00p
(Originally scheduled for tonight; postponed to Monday)

All times Central.

Most Recent C-USA Notebook

More information on Wednesday's games and your favorite team can be found on the school web sites: