Box Score
LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M-International shot 75 percent from the floor in the second half to defeat St. Edward's, 73-60, Saturday afternoon at the Kinesiology and Convocation Center.
St. Edward's (11-10, 1-4 HC) started the game on a 12-5 run in the first seven minutes of action.
CHRIS WACKER registered four points while
JAMES STUKES chipped in with three points and
CONNER KJER added a three off of the bench.
The lead would grow to eight points at the 7:58 mark, when
JOSEPH SALDANA nailed a three-pointer. That made the score 22-14, St. Edward's.
TAMU-International (9-6, 3-3 HC) responded with eight-straight points to tie the score, 22-22, with 5:51 remaining. Johnel Gray scored the first five points of the run.
After a jumper by Damal Donaldson for the Dustdevils at the 5:29 mark tied the game, St. Edward's ended the half on a 10-4 run.
SHIMEEK JOHNSON tallied four points down the stretch to lead St. Edward's to a 34-28 advantage at the break.
In the second half, TAMU-International opened with a 25-8 run through the first 11 minutes of action. Gray had seven points to spark the Dustdevils, while Donaldson scored the final five points of the spurt for a 53-42 lead with 9:17 remaining in the game.
Stukes got the Hilltoppers back in the game with seven points over the next two minutes. That output led St. Edward's to eight-straight points and cut the lead to 53-50, with 7:48 left in the contest.
Six-straight point by Kevin Jefferson Jr. pushed the Dustdevil lead to nine points, 59-50, with 6:24 remaining and they never looked back.
Both Stukes and Kjer led the Hilltoppers with 14 points. Johnson narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Jefferson Jr. and Culliver Jr. both had 15 points each for the Dustdevils, while Gray added 13 points.
St. Edward's will be back in action Thursday when they host Heartland Conference rival UT-Permian Basin. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live Video and Stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
