Undermined

On senior night for the Marshall men's basketball team, it was a couple of UTEP juniors who stole the spotlight.

Randy Culpepper scored 32 points and Derrick Caracter added 18 to help push the Miners over the Herd 80-76 in front of 7,894 fans at the Cam Henderson Center.

But what's heartbreaking for the Herd is that most of those points came in the second half.

"We came out flat," said senior forward Tyler Wilkerson. "They came out making shots. Coach said they make runs and they make them quick. They then made a 12-0 run in two minutes."

Head coach Donnie Jones saw not only the Miners making runs against his team, but they also were efficient with their offense.

"We're not starting very good in the second half," Jones said. "We were up three or four in the end there, but we couldn't get stops.  They shot 57 percent in the second half and that's the difference in the game. And when they do that on your home floor, it's going to be hard to win."

With the Herd up 36-26 with one second left in the first half, Culpepper heaved a 30-footer that went in to give the Herd only a seven-point lead going into the half.

Momentum was all UTEP's in the second half as the miners went on a 14-2 run to start the half, with Culpepper accounting for 10 of those points.

The Herd knew Culpepper had a shooting stroke, but the lack of defense on the 6-foot junior also didn't help.

"He can shoot the ball, that's what he is, a shooter," Wilkerson said. "We were trailing him, chasing him and everything. He was just making shots. You can't do anything when somebody gets hot like that."

UTEP kept a lead through a majority of the half with it reaching as high as 11 when the miners went up 62-51 with 9:31 to go.

But the Herd kept close, leaning on senior Tyler Wilkerson who had his 18th career double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds.

Finally the Herd found a run that would pull it ahead with 5:39 left as it took the lead 65-64 on a Hassan Whiteside hook shot.

Whiteside was also a key contributor to the Herd staying in the game, adding 20 points and 14 rebounds.

"It's scary where his ceiling could be," said UTEP head coach Tony Barbee. "He has a back-to-the-basket game and can hit the face-up jumper. If you see him gain strength over the years in the weight room, it could be scary." 

But what Culpepper started for UTEP, Caracter finished. With 16 points in the second half, the junior transfer from Louisville bullied his way past Marshall defenders.

And with 36 seconds left in the half, and the game tied 76-76, Caracter threw in a shot the Herd defense couldn't stop all game, a baby hook, to take the final lead.

   "He's strong, real strong," Wilkerson said. "It's hard to bump him off his position. Once a big man has good legs on him, he's hard to stop. He got deep post-ups and you couldn't do anything with him when we was that low."   

   Wilkerson shot a 20-foot jump shot that glanced off the rim, and the Herd lost another close one at home.

   This is the third time this season that Marshall came close to beating an upper echelon Conference USA team.  They lost to UAB on Jan. 23, 61-59. They then lost to Memphis, 75-72, on Jan. 27.

   Jones knows with these types of games, it is all about coming out in the second half ready and about finishing games.

   "Give UTEP credit; that's a very good basketball team we played today," Jones said. "We make a couple plays down the stretch we're right there. But you have to make plays and you have to get stops when you win those games. But that's what happens when you play a really good basketball team there is not room for error."

   UTEP, who with a win tonight, clinched the C-USA regular season title out right.

   The Miners are on a 13-game winning streak and are nationally ranked for the first time in 18 years.

   But after Tuesday's game, UTEP knows it was lucky to leave with a win.

    "Marshall has one of, if not the most talented teams in the league," said Barbee. "It's a tough place to play and tough place to win, but we have that type of team."

    Barbee also mentioned that though his team is No. 1 in the conference, there is no easy road in this conference.

   "When you got teams like Marshall and UAB and Tulsa you can never be comfortable in this league," Barbee said. "Once you get to the conference tournament, as good as the league is and with as much parity as we have this could one of the most exciting conference tournaments that we've had in a long time."

   But before Marshall can think about the C-USA tournament, there is one more game to go. Saturday, Marshall travels to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU.

   Jones knows that after this close loss against a top team, a good showing against the Mustangs will build momentum going into the tournament.

    "We're not tucking our heads by any means," Jones said. "Are we disappointed we lost? Absolutely. We expected to win tonight and we could have won.

     "We'll put this one behind us and get ready for SMU. The tournament is still there. And hopefully we'll have an opportunity to play them again."

GAME NOTES: Along with Wilkerson, senior night honored Chris Lutz and Darryl Merthie as well. Lutz had only five points, while Merthie contributed six…UTEP was the first ranked team other than Memphis to appear in the Henderson Center since Jan. 7, 2006 when then No. 20 George Washington defeated the Herd 79-73...Marshall has lost to all three of its ranked opponents (No. 10 North Carolina Dec. 22, 2009/No. 11 West Virginia Jan. 20, 2010/and UTEP) this season...The last time Marshall beat a ranked team at home was Dec. 17, 1997 against No. 23 Wake Forest…Whiteside has played 84 of a possible 95 minutes over the last two games for the Herd...He raised his school and Conference USA blocked shots total to 165, the 11th most in a season by a Division I player...Wilkerson is now 29 points away from scoring 1,000 in his career (971).

Kyle Hobstetter can be contacted at Hobstetter@Marshall.edu