Box Score

FORT SMITH, Ark. – St. Edward's forward JAMES STUKES scored a personal best for the second-straight game as he tallied a game-high 21 points in a 74-63 victory over SW Oklahoma State Friday evening on day one of the Parker Memorial Lions Classic at the Stubblefield Center.
 
Stukes had notched his career-high of 19 points in a victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville, but on Friday evening, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native bettered his record by two points. Stukes was 7-for-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from behind the arc and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.
 
St. Edward's Head Coach Andre Cook had this to say about Stukes, “James has played some good basketball for us. He is a difficult matchup for teams as he is 6-5 and can handle the ball. He's worked hard and the results have shown.”
 
Stukes opened the scoring in the game with a bucket at the 17:50 mark. After a three-pointer by SHIMEEK JOHNSON and four-straight points by CHRIS WACKER, St. Edward's (6-5) had built a 9-2 lead with 14:23 on the clock.
 
SW Oklahoma State (3-4) fought back using a 17-8 run over the next eight minutes. Kenyon Borders led the Bulldogs with six points and Dominick Cornelius added five points, which included a three pointer to cap off the rally.
 
That's when Stukes and running mate JEFF CAMPBELL went to work. Campbell scored on a jumper to tie the game, while Stukes scored the next eight points. Campbell ended the 13-2 run with a three-pointer to make it 30-21, with 4:24 remaining in the first half.
 
Borders would hit another three-pointer and Marin Zelalija would score six points as the Bulldogs cut the Hilltopper lead to 32-30, with 2:05 left in the first half.
 
St. Edward's responded as Stukes scored the final eight points of the first half for the Hilltoppers. That helped the squad on an 8-2 run in the final two minutes to take a 40-32 halftime lead. Stukes ended up scoring 18 of his 21 points in the first period.
 
In the second half, SW Oklahoma State came out on fire, going on a 17-6 run to open the half. Thomas Davis was key for the Bulldogs as he scored 10 points during the run to get SW Oklahoma State back into the game. Davis scored eight of the final 10 points of the run, which gave them a 49-46 lead with 13:13 remaining in the contest.
 
That is when Johnson and Wacker stepped up for the Hilltoppers. Johnson was clutch in helping St. Edward's to a 12-5 run over the next eight minutes. The 6-7 forward hit a three-pointer to start the run and also capped it off with a free-throw with 5:26 remaining to put the Hilltoppers back ahead, 58-54.
 
After Ryan Donahoe made two free throws for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to 58-56, with just over five minutes remaining, Johnson had the answer once again. He registered a trey, and after an offensive foul on SW Oklahoma State, JEFF CAMPBELL made a layup to push the lead to seven points.
 
From there, it was a free throw clinic for the Hilltoppers as they hit 11-of-12 freebies to keep the Bulldogs at bay.
 
“I was happy with how our team responded down the stretch,: Cook said. “It says something about our guys and their toughness tonight. Hopefully we can beat a good SNU team tomorrow. It would be great momentum heading into the student-athlete finals.
 
Campbell finished second on the team with 18 points, which was also his best output in a Hilltopper jersey. Johnson and Wacker both finished as double-digit scorers with 16 and 10 points respectively.
 
Davis led the Bulldogs with 15 points, while Donahoe added 14 points.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday evening against Southern Nazarene. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and live video and stats will be available on the Lion Athletic Website. Southern Nazarene defeated host UA Fort Smith on a buzzer-beater three Friday evening, 82-79.