LAREDO, Texas – The 23^rd-ranked St. Edward's Men's Basketball team used a hot-shooting second half to defeat Texas A&M-International, 62-55, Thursday evening, and stay atop the Heartland Conference.
 
In a first half that featured five ties and nine lead changes, both teams stayed within four points of each other the entire opening frame. Trailing by three points in the final minute, St. Edward's guard JOHN GRAMLICH's jumper with 37 seconds left cut the lead to 29-28. That is where at would stand at the break as freshman AUBRIE KING blocked a last-second three-point try by Texas A&M-International (8-7, 3-4 HC).
 
In the first five minutes of the second half, the St. Edward's tandem of big men TREY LINDSEY and HARLEY NUSSMAN went to work. Lindsey hit a three-pointer and a jumper, while Nussman knocked down a layup and two free throws to lead the way for the Hilltoppers. A trey by JOHN GRAMLICH at the 14:52 mark, capped off a 12-4 run and gave St. Edward's (14-1, 6-1 HC) a seven-point cushion, 40-33.
 
The Dustdevils found a spark from reserve forward Jamie Farrie. The big man led TAMU-International on its own 12-4 run over the next five minutes to retake the lead, 45-44. Farrie scored the final seven points of the run.
 
However, that would be the last time the Hilltoppers would trail on the evening. Three-pointers by ETHAN GILBERT and FRANKIE MGBOLU gave the visitors a five-point lead with 5:13 remaining in the contest. RAMIR BURTON's trey at the 2:03 mark sealed the game as St. Edward's had its largest lead of the game, 58-49.
 
"I am proud of the toughness our guys displayed," head coach Andre Cook said. TAMU-International has been a dominant program the last five years, so to win on their court is special."
 
The win breaks a nine-game losing streak to the Dustdevils.
 
Burton led the Hilltoppers with 14 points and tied for the team lead with five rebounds. Nussman added 10 points and four rebounds, while Gramlich added nine points.
 
St. Edward's shot 55 percent (11-20) from the field in the second half, while the Dustdevils were held to 37 percent shooting.
 
During the program-best 14-1 start, St. Edward's has done it sharing and taking care of the basketball. The Hilltoppers have had equal or more assists than their opponent in each of their last 12 games and 13-of-15 game overall. They have also forced the opposition into equal or more turnovers in 12 games this season.
 
St. Edward's will take on Heartland Conference rival St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon for the final leg of this three-game road trip. The "Battle of the Saints" matchup will tip-off at 3 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio. Live video and stats will be available on the Rattler Athletic Website.
 
                                             Heartland           Overall
Team (Preseason)                 W-L                   W-L
St. Edward's (9)                       6-1                    14-1
UT-Permian Basin (4)             5-2                    10-5
Lubbock Christian* (6)           4-2                     7-6
St. Mary's (2)                            4-3                     7-7
UA Fort Smith (1)                    4-3                     8-7
Dallas Baptist (7)                     3-3                     9-5
Newman (8)                             3-4                     7-6
Rogers State* (5)                     3-4                     9-6
TAMU-International (3)          3-4                     8-7
Panhandle State (11)              1-5                    3-11
Oklahoma Christian* (10)      1-6                    3-10
 
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
January 15
RSU 72, LCU 61
UTPB 65, STMU 64
SEU 62, TAMIU 55
UAFS 104, OPSU 72
NU 72, OC 62
 
January 17
DBU at OC                                     2:00 PM
UAFS at LCU                                 3:00 PM
SEU at STMU                                3:00 PM
RSU at OPSU                                3:00 PM
UTPB at TAMIU                             3:00 PM