Box Score The Basics
-Score: St. Edward's 80, UA Fort Smith 62
-Records: St. Edward's 17-14, 6-7 HC: UA Fort Smith 15-10, 10-4
-Location: Austin, Texas (Recreation and Convocation Center)
 
How It Happened
-St. Edward's raced out to a 17-12 lead in the game's first 10 minutes of action. The Hilltoppers sank three shots from behind the arc to take the five-point lead with 9:45 left on the clock.
-UA Fort Smith fought back and took a 28-27 lead after a Corey Copeland layup with 5:05 remaining in the first half.
-The Hilltoppers responded with a 13-1 over the last five minutes of play, capped off by a jumper by CONNER KJER with no time left on the clock. He was whistled for the dead-ball foul after the bucket was good. Two free throws by Chukwukere Ekeh with 0.2 seconds made the halftime score, 41-30 in favor of the home team.
-In the second half, the Lions would reduce the lead to six points on three different occasions in the first 12 minutes of play. The last was 55-49, with 8:35 remaining in the contest.
-From there, St. Edward's got a layup from HARLEY NUSSMAN, a three-pointer from Kjer and a three-point play by JAMES STUKES to push the lead to 14 points, 63-49, with 6:43 remaining.
-The lead would grow to as many as 26 points with 56 seconds remaining.
-The Lions would get eight mop-up points in the final minutes to reduce the margin under 20 at 80-62 when the final horn sounded.
 
Beyond the Box Score
-The Hilltoppers had balanced scoring with Nussman, Johnson, Campbell and Stukes all scoring 12 points and Kjer leading the way with 13 points.
-Nussman collected his second double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. In the past two games in which he has started he has averaged 10 points and 12 rebounds.
-St. Edward's held the Lions' leading scorer, Jake Toupal, who came in averaging 13.2 ppg, to five points on 1-of-10 shooting.
-With the victory, the Hilltoppers have clinched a winning season at 17-14.
 
2012-13 Heartland Conference Men's Basketball Standings
Team                                 Conference      Overall
UA Fort Smith                          10-4             15-10
Newman                                    9-4                19-5
St. Mary's                                  8-5                18-7
TAMU-International                8-5              15-10
St. Edward's                              6-7              17-14
Dallas Baptist                            6-7                9-15
UT-Permian Basin                    5-8              10-13
Panhandle State                      1-12              5-22
McMurry                                   0-0                16-8
Oklahoma Christian                 0-0              15-10
 
Up Next
The Hilltoppers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for the season finale versus Newman. “Senior Night” will tip-off at 4 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available through the Hilltopper Athletic Website.