AUSTIN, Texas – This Heartland Conference tilt had a little bit of everything from clutch baskets, big defensive stops and a last second shot that fell just short for Lubbock Christian as St. Edward's escaped with a 67-65 victory. The victory puts St. Edward's all alone atop the Heartland Conference standings with the first half of the conference schedule complete.
 
Both teams traded baskets for the first six minutes of action in a low-scoring affair. RAMIR BURTON tallied two buckets for St. Edward's (16-2, 8-2 HC), when buckets were hard to come by due to great defense from both squads.
 
Two more layups by Burton and huge three-pointer by freshman SEAN WATKINS helped the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 20-12 lead at the 9:20 mark.
 
After two free throws by Marcos Schuster cut the St. Edward's lead to four points with 5:12 remaining, a trey from TREY LINDSEY and layup from FRANKIE MGBOLU gave the home team its largest lead at nine points.
 
Lubbock Christian (10-7, 7-3 HC) fought back with Scout Teal getting back-to-back jumpers off of the bench and Marcus Arrington adding three points to cut the Hilltopper lead to three points. However, a three-pointer from Aubrey King as time was winding down put St. Edward's up 37-31 at the break.
 
Burton led all scorers in the first half with 10 points. The Hilltoppers shot 54 percent from the field and they held the Chaps to 36 percent shooting.
 
In the second half, Lubbock Christian exploded for a well-timed 11-3 run to take the lead 42-40, with 17:20 remaining. Each team would trade baskets till the 10:26 mark, with Lubbock Christian clinging to a 52-50 advantage. The Chaps put together a 9-2 run over the next four minutes thanks to Matthew Alford and Issac Cardona, who scored five points and four points respectively during the span. That spurt pushed Lubbock Christian to a 59-52 lead with 6:19 remaining.
 
St. Edward's turned up the defense for the remainder of the game, allowing just six points while forcing three turnovers. Down 61-57, with just over three minutes left, back-to-back three-pointers from King and ETHAN GILBERT gave the Hilltoppers a 63-61 lead before Lubbock Christian called a timeout with 2:15 left.
 
Two free throws by AJ Luckey and a layup from Alford gave the lead back to Lubbock Christian, 65-63, with 1:06 remaining. Alford had a chance at three-point play, but missed the free throw. Burton canned two free throws with 49 seconds left on the next possession to tie the game, 65-65.
 
JAE RICKETTS stepped in for HARLEY NUSSMAN who left with injury and came away with arguably the biggest play of the game. With the game tied and just 25 seconds left, Ricketts swatted Cardona's layup attempt that would've given the Chaps the lead. Ricketts quickly recovered, managing to jump and catch the rebound near the baseline, before sending a pass to Burton who pushed the pace for the fast break.
 
Burton was ultimately fouled and sent to the free-throw line. He knocked down his two free throws. Lubbock Christian ran a play that was deflected out of bounds with just 2.3 seconds left. Luckey gathered himself for the final shot of the game but his attempt was just short.
 
Burton led the Hilltoppers with 16 points, while Mgbolu added 10 points and four assists. QUINTON LILLEY had a great game off of the bench, registering eight points and nine rebounds. Ricketts was also huge off of the bench with seven points and five rebounds.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Thursday when they travel to take on Rogers State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hillcat Athletic Website.
 
                                             Heartland           Overall
Team (Preseason)                 W-L                   W-L
St. Edward's (9)                       8-2                    16-2
UT-Permian Basin (4)             7-3                    12-6
Lubbock Christian* (6)           7-3                    10-7
St. Mary's (2)                            7-3                    10-7
Rogers State* (5)                     6-4                    12-6
UA Fort Smith (1)                    6-4                    10-8
Dallas Baptist (7)                     4-5                    10-7
Newman (8)                             4-6                     8-8
TAMU-International (3)          3-6                     8-9
Panhandle State (11)              1-8                    3-14
Oklahoma Christian* (10)     1-10                   3-14
 
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
January 24
STMU 77, DBU 57
UTPB 86, OPSU 78
SEU 67, LCU 65
UAFS 88, OC 58
RSU 86, NU 71
 
January 26
DBU at TAMIU                             5:30 PM
 
January 29
OPSU at LCU                                7:30 PM
SEU at RSU                                   7:30 PM
TAMIU at NU                               7:30 PM
UTPB at UAFS                              7:30 PM
STMU at OC                                 7:30 PM
 
January 31
LCU at DBU                                  2:00 PM
UTPB at RSU                                3:00 PM
TAMIU at OC                                3:00 PM
SEU at UAFS                                 3:00 PM
STMU at NU                                 3:00 PM