AUSTIN, Texas – The St. Edward's Men's Basketball team used a strong second-half surge to blast Oklahoma Panhandle State, 94-46, Thursday evening at the Recreation and Convocation Center. The victory keeps the Hilltoppers in first place at 7-2 in the Heartland Conference, and sets up a showdown with Lubbock Christian (7-2) on Saturday with the conference lead at stake.
 
St. Edward's (15-2, 7-2 HC) started fast and came away with a 9-2 lead through the first four minutes. Panhandle State (3-14, 1-8 HC) would not go away quietly, as the Aggies would counter with a 21-15 run to cut the Hilltopper lead to one, 24-23, with 7:20 left in the first half.
 
That is when HARLEY NUSSMAN and RAMIR BURTON went to work. Nussman put up six points and RAMIR BURTON added four to push the Hilltoppers on a 12-2 run over the next five minutes.
 
HARLEY NUSSMAN powered the team during the first 20 minutes as he went 6-for-7 from the field for 13 total points. St. Edward's would go into the break with a 38-28 lead.
 
In the second half, the Hilltopper starters helped the home team increase its lead to 20 points by the 15:37 mark. That is when the St. Edward's bench took over, outscoring the Aggies 35-17. QUINTON LILLEY and SEAN WATKINS were huge off of the bench for the Hilltoppers, with Lilley pouring in 12 points and Watkins adding 15 of his own. Both players would end the evening with three assists and four steals each.
 
Nussman led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. JOHN GRAMLICH added 12 points and four assists, while Burton tallied 10 points and three dimes of his own.
 
St. Edward's shot 58.3 percent from the field and made 10 three-pointers as a team, while holding the Aggies to 31.9 percent shooting from the floor. This is the best defensive effort for the Hilltoppers on the season.
 
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Saturday when they host Lubbock Christian with first place on the line. Tip-off for the epic battle will be at 3 p.m. Live coverage can be found on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
 
                                             Heartland           Overall
Team (Preseason)                 W-L                   W-L
St. Edward's (9)                       7-2                    15-2
Lubbock Christian* (6)           7-2                    10-6
UT-Permian Basin (4)             6-3                    11-6
St. Mary's (2)                            6-3                     9-7
Rogers State* (5)                     5-4                    11-6
UA Fort Smith (1)                    5-4                     9-8
Dallas Baptist (7)                     4-4                    10-6
Newman (8)                             4-5                     8-7
TAMU-International (3)          3-6                     8-9
Panhandle State (11)              1-7                    3-13
Oklahoma Christian* (10)      1-9                    3-13
 
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
January 19
NU 88, DBU 75
LCU 77, OPSU 73
 
January 22
SEU 94, OPSU 46
STMU 73, TAMIU 61
UAFS 90, NU 89
RSU 86, OC 46
LCU 74, UTPB 73 (OT)
 
January 24
DBU at STMU                               2:00 PM
OPSU at UTPB                             3:00 PM
NU at RSU                                    3:00 PM
LCU at SEU                                   3:00 PM
OC at UAFS                                   3:00 PM