Box Score AUSTIN, Texas – The St. Edward' men's basketball team won their second-straight game to open the 2013-14 season by dishing out 24 assists in a total-team effort to defeat Austin College, 97-64, Saturday evening at the Recreation and Convocation Center. The game saw 13 Hilltoppers put up points during the blowout victory over the Roos.
Austin College (0-1) opened the game on a 5-2 run, but that was short-lived as St. Edward's (2-0) came roaring back with 11-straight points.
JOHN GRAMLICH capped off the rally with a trey at the 15:28 mark of the half.
The Hilltoppers increased their lead to 30-10, over the next five minutes as they embarked on a 17-5 run.
MATT MINER came off of the bench to score five points during the stanza and finish it with a three-point play.
The lead would flirt with 30 points for the rest of the half, before the home team took a 56-29 advantage into the break.
JAMES STUKES led all scorers with 14 points in the first frame.
The second half was more of the same as the Hilltoppers kept the lead comfortably in hand the rest of the way.
"We are still trying to figure out our roles," head coach
Andre Cook said. "We just have to get better every day. Today was a good step."
Stukes led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.
"I was proud of James tonight," Cook said. "He struggled from the free throw line in yesterday's game and he improved a lot tonight. He worked hard during shoot around today and it showed. The guys look to him to lead because he has been through the battles. His game has got a lot better and that is due to his work ethic."
Also contributing for the Hilltoppers was
HARLEY NUSSMAN who added a double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
RAMIR BURTON had an excellent game off of the bench with 10 points and a game-high seven assists.
St. Edward's will be back in action Friday when they travel to Stephenville, Texas to compete in the Texan Tip-off Classic. They will play hosts Tarleton State on Friday at 7 p.m. at Wisdom Gymnasium. They will also take on Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday at 5 p.m. Live video and stats are available on the Texan Athletic Website.
