UTEP breezes to 74-40 win over Southern Miss

EL PASO, Texas (AP) Vince Hunter scored 14 points and C.J. Cooper added 12 more to propel hot-shooting UTEP to a 74-40 win over Southern Miss on Saturday night.

Hunter hit 6 of 10 from the field and hauled in eight rebounds in the win. Omega Harris contributed 10 points while Matt Willms had nine points and eight rebounds for UTEP (11-5, 3-1 Conference USA).

The Miners held Southern Miss (5-9, 0-3) to just 15 points in the first half, taking control with a 17-2 run capped by Julian Washburn's 3-pointer that made it 20-5 with 8:28 left before the break. The lead hit double figures midway through the first half and never tightened below that the rest of the way.

UTEP shot 57.1 percent from the floor on 49 attempts, including 10 of 20 from long range.

Southern Miss, which shot just 30.6 percent, was led by Norville Carey's 10 points.