Men's Basketball | 11/23/2015 11:38:00 PM
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – St. Edward's University Men's Basketball fell, 78-50, on Monday night to NCAA Division I Texas A&M Corpus Christi, but used the exhibition to get valuable playing time for many of its reserves.
JAMES TAYLOR led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench, and
ETHAN GILBERT pulled down eight rebounds with an assist and a steal in 23 minutes of play. The Topper's usual starting five played no more than 19 minutes while
SEAN WATKINS,
AUBRIE KING, and
ALEX DOCHE all recorded significant playing time.
"I wanted to accomplish a few things tonight," said head coach Andre Cook. "I wanted to see some other guys get quality minutes, and also make sure we left Corpus Christi healthy. We were able to get that done; so to me, the score tonight was irrelevant."
FRANKIE MGBOLU opened the scoring for St. Edward's after falling behind, 11-0, to start the game. A three-point basket from
JOHN GRAMLICH started a Topper rally, and another basket from behind the arc by
SEAN WATKINS pulled the visitors within three, 16-13.
The Islanders extended their lead to 22-13, but a strong defensive effort by coach Cook's squad held Corpus Christi scoreless for nearly five-straight minutes of play. Unfortunately the Hilltoppers could not capitalize on their defensive success, and the half would close with the home team leading 35-22.
Another Corpus Christi run to open the second half put St. Edward's in a hole they could not climb out of, despite Taylor scoring 10 of his 12 points in the final period. Gilbert ended the game on a high note for the Hilltoppers with an offensive rebound and put-back layup before the final buzzer.
Coach Cook and his team return to regular-season play on Tuesday in the second half of a men's/women's doubleheader on the hilltop. J.J. Riehl and the women open the night against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 5:30 with the men to facing Trinity at 7:30. Live stats and video for both games will be available at GoHilltoppers.com
