AUSTIN, Texas – RAMIR BURTON's 16 points led four Hilltoppers in double-figure scoring as St. Edward's hung on to beat upstart Southwestern, 73-67, Monday evening at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
 
Southwestern (0-1) jumped out to an early 5-3 lead with a three-pointer by Travis Kurtz at the 15:53 mark to cap the early run.
 
The Pirates kept up the offensive pressure and extended their lead. A layup by Ryan Ogden with 9:39 remaining in the opening period gave the visitors a 16-11 advantage.
 
St. Edward's (3-0) finally found its offensive rhythm after the first 10 minutes of action. Burton followed the Southwestern run with back-to-back buckets to cut the lead to one with 9:10 remaining. The Hilltoppers kept things rolling as ETHAN GILBERT came off of the bench to can two buckets. The second one came off of a steal and fast-break dunk to get the home crowd to its feet. When it was all said and done, St. Edward's had amassed a 16-2 run over a five minute span to erase the Pirate advantage and give the home team a 27-18 lead with 4:44 left before intermission.
 
Four-straight points by Southwestern over the final two minutes of action in the first half cut the Hilltopper lead to three points, but a three pointer by ZACH GHORMLEY with four seconds left gave St. Edward's a 32-26 lead at the break.
 
The Hilltoppers shot 54 percent from the floor in the first half and held the opposition to just 37 percent shooting. The only problem was that St. Edward's turned the ball over 10 times and the Pirates grabbed seven offensive rebounds.
 
In the second half, Southwestern used an 8-2 spurt out of the gate to tie the game, 34-34, with 14:43 on the clock. Zach Whitlock was key for the visitors, scoring six of the eight points during the run.
 
That is when the Hilltoppers started to heat up from outside. After making only one trey in the first half, JOHN GRAMLICH knocked down two shots from beyond the arc to push the St. Edward's lead to 44-36, with 12:01 left in the contest.
 
The Pirates would not go away quietly. Southwestern cut the Hilltopper lead to one point on two different occasions down the stretch, and even tied the game for a second time, 56-56, with 4:07 remaining.
 
St. Edward's stayed hot from outside as Gilbert hit two shots from behind the three-point line sandwiched around a Burton long-range bomb. Gilbert's second trey gave St. Edward's a 67-62 lead with 45 seconds remaining. The Hilltoppers would go a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final stanza to ice the game.
 
"It was a win and we will take it," head coach Andre Cook said. "Southwestern outhustled, outplayed, and outcoached us all night. We felt too good about winning the tourney title this weekend and got knocked back down to earth. We learned we need a lot of work and we will start tomorrow."
 
Gramlich scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, while HARLEY NUSSMAN chipped in a double-double, tallying 12 points and 11 rebounds. Gilbert had 10 points off of the bench, while FRANKIE MGBOLU had a solid all-around game, netting eight points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
 
St. Edward's hit the glass in the second half, outrebounding the Pirates, 22-12, and only allowed two offensive rebounds while picking up nine of its own.
 
The win gives St. Edward's a 3-0 start for the third time in the last four seasons under Cook.
 
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Thursday when they host crosstown rival Concordia. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.