MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Brandon Walters scored 17 points, hauled in 12 rebounds and Middle Tennessee never trailed in an 81-50 win over Texas-El Paso on Saturday night.

It was Walters' first career double-double, finishing 6 of 7 from the field and missing just one of his six free throws.

Karl Gamble added 12 points and Nick King had 11 for Middle Tennessee, which shot 50 percent from the field and dominated the glass 42-26.

The Blue Raiders (16-5, 8-1 Conference USA) scored the game's first seven points while racing out to a 17-6 lead behind 3-pointers from Tyrik Dixon, King and Edward Simpson. A second 3 from Simpson just over a minute later pushed the advantage to 20-8 and Middle Tennessee led by double figures the rest of the way.

Trey Wade hit both of his 3-point attempts and finished with 14 points to lead UTEP (7-14, 2-7) and Evan Gilyard had 13 points.