OKLAHOMA CITY — The Texas-El Paso Miners used a 17-2 first-half run to build a 15-point lead en route to defeating the OU men's basketball team 89-74 Monday at the Ford Center.

The Sooners (8-4) struggled all night to stop the UTEP (7-2) offense. The Miners hit nearly 58 percent of their shots from the field, including a 10-for-16 evening from behind the 3-point line.

"They went on a big run, and we got deflated," OU head coach Jeff Capel said. "Our zone wasn't as active as it needed to be, and we just didn't get to some assignments."

Five Miners scored double-digit points, led by guard Randy Culpepper's 27 points.

"My philosophy is, if I make the first shot, then I'll just be throwing it up all night," Culpepper said. "I made the first shot, and my teammates told me to keep shooting."

Miner Derrick Caracter recorded the game's lone double-double, as he scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Caracter scored UTEP's first seven points, pacing his team to an early 7-3 advantage.

"We wanted to trap when the ball went into him," Capel said. "Early in the game, our rotations were not right, and we were closing out the guys we shouldn't have been closing out to."

Warren led the Sooners with 26 points. However, Capel's expressed displeasure with Warren after Saturday's win against Northern Colorado seemed to remain Monday, if just in an implied fashion.

Capel was asked if the Sooners had a team leader, and he said OU did not have a consistent leader. He was then asked if there was an obvious candidate for a player to lead the Sooners.

"Yes, and you know who it is," Capel said. "Everyone in these room knows who it is."

For his part, Warren said losing was the most frustrating part of OU's season so far.

"We have four losses already, and we only had six last year," he said.

UTEP cruised through the second half, never having less than a 10-point lead. OU's best chance at a rally came early, when Tommy Mason-Griffin hit a jump shot and a 3-pointer to cut UTEP's lead to 12 with 81 seconds gone in the second stanza.

He then fired another 3-ball that rolled around the rim and bounced out, which, if good, would have cut the Miner's edge to nine. Caracter countered with a lay-up to push UTEP's edge back to 14 points.

Tony Crocker got OU back within 10 points with 10:36 left in the game, but Christian Polk answered with a long jumper 30 seconds later to give UTEP a 47-35 edge.

"Coming in, I thought [UTEP] would be the most talented team we've played against and the best team we've played against," Capel said. "And that's certainly true. It came down to our inability to defend them."

Mason-Griffin finished the game with 20 points, while Crocker added 10. Tiny Gallon scored 13 points and pulled down eight boards.

"I thought [Gallon] played well in the second half," Capel said. "Which was a plus for us. That's something we can build on."

Gallon defended Caracter for much of the game, and the 6-foot-9, 290 lb. Gallon limited the 6-foot-9, 275 pound Caracter to just four points after Caracter's opening burst.

UTEP controlled virtually every phase of the game, out-rebounding the Sooners 36-30 and delivering 16 assists to OU's eight. In fact, the Sooners committed more turnovers (10) than the assists they delivered.

UTEP head coach Tony Barbee said Monday's win was a big win for Conference USA, and compared it to wins by fellow conference members Tulsa and Alabama-Birmingham against Oklahoma State and Cincinnati, respectively.

"Those are resume wins, on TV," he said. "Key for this game is that it was on TV and so, everybody in the country saw it."

The Sooners are off until 9 p.m. New Year's Eve, when they travel to Spokane, Wash., to face the No. 24 Gonzaga Bulldogs.

"We have a lot of work to do," Capel said. "We have a break coming up, and then a tough one after Christmas. So, we have a lot of work to do."

OU's loss was the first half of the two-game All-College Classic. Oklahoma State defeated LaSalle 77-62 in the late game.