Box Score ABILENE, Texas – St. Edward's shot 59 percent from the field in the second half to pull away from McMurry, 82-72, Saturday afternoon at Kimbrell Arena. The victory keeps the Hilltoppers undefeated in Heartland Conference play.
 
McMurry (7-5, 2-1 HC) opened the game, scoring the first nine points in the contest's three minutes. Kourtney Goff scored five of the points to lead the way.
 
St. Edward's (7-4, 3-0 HC) responded with a 15-4 run over the next eight minutes to take a two-point lead, 15-13, with 9:27 remaining in the first half. JAMES STUKES started the run off with four free throws. The Hilltoppers kept the pressure on the home team as they started hitting from outside. St. Edward's got two treys from JOHN RUTHERFORD and another from JOHN GRAMLICH. The Hilltoppers owned a 28-17 lead when the spurt was over.
 
McMurry cut the lead to four down the stretch as the Hilltoppers took a 32-28 lead into the break.
 
Out of halftime, St. Edward's went to work on the offensive end. The Hilltoppers outscored the Warhawks, 22-9 in the first 10 minutes of action. FRANKIE MGBOLU was key during the run as he tallied eight points. Stukes also pitched in with two treys. The run gave St. Edward's an insurmountable 17-point lead. The lead would never dip below double digits the rest of the way and reached as high as 23 at one point.
 
Stukes led the Hilltoppers with 18 points and seven rebounds. Mgbolu added 12 points and seven rebounds of his own. The St. Edward's bench was fantastic as they provided 35 points to the total.
 
"I was proud of the guys for their first road win of the season," head coach Andre Cook said. "McMurry is a very good team, but I thought our guys were determined on the defensive end and mentally tough throughout. I also thought a huge key was our second unit. (Ramir) Burton, (Matt) Miner, (Tyler) Foster, (Chris) Wacker and Rutherford were outstanding today. They are really playing well together."
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Thursday when they travel to take on Heartland Conference rival St. Mary's. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena. Live video and stats will be available on the Rattler Athletic Website.