Box Score AUSTIN, Texas – After a sluggish start by St. Edward's, the Hilltoppers scorched the nets for 60 second-half points to open up Heartland Conference play with a 92-83 victory over Panhandle State Thursday evening at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
 
St. Edward's (5-4, 1-0 HC) jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the game's first nine minutes. JAMES STUKES led the way with four points and JOHN RUTHERFORD finished off the run with three-straight free throws. The lead would grow to 13 by the 4:22 mark of the first half as MATT MINER hit a runner to make it 28-15.
 
Panhandle State (0-9, 0-1 HC) cut the lead to 32-25 in the final stanza of the first half thanks to Jeremy Newton. The wing scored four points as the Aggies outscored the Hilltoppers, 10-4 down the stretch.
 
St. Edward's forced Panhandle State into 18 first-half turnovers, however, the Hilltoppers were only able to convert those mistakes into seven points. The Aggies held close by outrebounding the home team, 22-13, and tallying 11 second-chance points.
 
In the second half, Panhandle State opened by outscoring St. Edward's, 6-2, to cut the lead to 34-31, with 18:36 on the clock. Tavien Rosemond had a three-point play while Bill Lee, Jr. added a bucket and T.J. Farrell had a free throw.
 
The Hilltoppers responded with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to push the lead to 44-33, with 15:58 left in the contest. Stukes had two buckets during the span to lead the way.
 
Five-straight points by the Aggies cut the St. Edward's lead to six points, but four-straight points by HARLEY NUSSMAN and a trey by JOHN GRAMLICH quickly put the Hilltoppers back in control, 51-38, with just over 14 minutes remaining.
 
The lead would stay in double digits most of what was left of the game. St. Edward's shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, and was outstanding from the charity stripe, going 21-of-23 for 91 percent shooting. The Hilltoppers also did a good job of sharing the ball as they tallied 13 of their 18 assists in the second frame.
 
Stukes led the way with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while Nussman chipped in with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots. Rutherford added 11 points off of the bench, while Gramlich and Frankie MgBolu dished out six and five assists respectively.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they host Heartland Conference rival Newman. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.