EL PASO, Texas (AP) -Randy Culpepper and Christian Polk had 14 points each to lead UTEP in a 58-47 victory over Air Force in the championship game of the Sun Bowl Invitational Tuesday night.
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 to play. The Falcons clawed as close as 38-36 with just under 10 minutes to play but never got any closer.
With UTEP leading 50-44 with 4 minutes left, a layup by Polk sparked an 8-0 run as UTEP sealed the victory.
The Miners scored 18 points off of 16 Air Force turnovers. The Falcons converted 16 UTEP miscues for just four points.
