Box Score AUSTIN, Texas – RAMIR BURTON tallied a career-high 29 points to go along with five assists but St. Edward's could not overcome UT-Permian Basin, 85-71, Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
Burton opened the game on fire, making his first five shots from the field to score 13 of the team's first 20 points. St. Edward's (7-8, 3-4 HC) used his output to take a 20-17 lead at the 12:56 mark of the first half.
The Hilltoppers kept the three-point lead, 22-19, until the 10:34 mark, when UT-Permian Basin (11-4, 5-2 HC) went on a 17-3 run over the next five minutes to open up an 11-point advantage with 5:22 left in the opening half at 36-25.
St. Edward's responded with a 15-2 run to close the half.
JOHN GRAMLICH and
HARLEY NUSSMAN both tallied five points and
JAE RICKETTS hit a trey in the closing seconds to lead the cause.
In the second half, two free throws by Gramlich and a trey by Burton extended the home team's lead to its largest at seven points, 45-38, with 18:05 remaining.
The Falcons continued to chip away at the lead over the next 12 minutes and finally knotted the score, 62-62, with 6:42 remaining in the contest. Over the next four minutes, the Hilltoppers went cold from the field, missing their next six shots. UT-Permian Basin took advantage and used a 14-0 run to take a commanding 76-62 lead with 2:24 left. St. Edward's was only able to cut it to nine points the rest of the way as the Falcons took the victory.
Burton finished 10-of-13 from the floor, 3-for-4 from behind the arc and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe for his career day. He also dished out five assists and collected two steals. Gramlich ended with 13 points, while Nussman had 11, and Stukes chipped in with 10.
St. Edward's lost the battle of the boards, 46-26, and only shot 37 percent from the floor. The Falcons shot 51 percent from the field and were 29-of-41 from the free-throw line.
St. Edward's will be back in action Thursday when they travel to take on Heartland Conference newcomer Rogers State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Claremore Exposition Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hillcat Athletic Website.
