Box Score
Post-Game Video

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The St. Edward's men basketball team dropped a 72-67 decision to longtime rival St. Mary's Thursday evening at the Bill Greehey Arena.
 
After a back-and-forth game for the first five minutes of action, St. Edward's (11-9, 1-3 HC) expanded a two-point lead to nine points, 24-15, with 8:33 on the clock. CONNER KJER connected on two shots from three-point land off of the bench and JAMES STUKES added four tough points to pace the Hilltoppers.
 
St. Edward's kept the advantage for most of the first half thanks to the outside shooting by SHIMEEK JOHNSON and the inside presence of Stukes.
 
With the Hilltoppers holding a six-point lead with 1:26 on the clock, St. Mary's (11-3, 4-2 HC) scored the final five points of the half. Daryell Taylor had a tip-in and Isaiah produced a three-point play after an offensive rebound to make the halftime score, 33-32, in favor of the Hilltoppers
 
Inn the second half, JEFF CAMPBELL would open play with a three-pointer to put St. Edward's up four points. After two free throws by the Rattlers' Kevin Kotzur, Johnson hit a bucket to put the Hilltoppers back up by four, 38-34, with 18:41 left.
 
St. Mary's responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take its own four-point lead, 42-38, with 16:34 remaining in the contest.
 
Two free throws by Stukes and another trey by Campbell at the 15:04 mark gave the lead back to the Hilltoppers, 43-42, with 15:04 remaining.
 
The Rattlers would answer by scoring the next seven points to take a six-point lead with 10:53 remaining in the contest.
 
St. Edward's would creep back into the game over the next seven minutes with the three-point shot being the key. The Hilltoppers would hit four shots from behind the arc during that span. Kjer's trey with 3:08 remaining, tied the score, 63-63. After a jumper by Kotzur with 2:40 remaining, and a Hilltopper missed opportunity on the other end, St. Mary's would go 5-for-6 from the free throw line to seal the game.
 
Johnson led the Hilltoppers with a game-high 20 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Stukes chipped in with 12 points, which included going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Kjer added 11 points and Campbell registered 10 points.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they travel to take on Heartland Conference rival Texas A&M-International. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building. Live Stats will be available on the Dustdevil Athletic Website. There will be a minimal charge for live video.