LUBBOCK, Texas – Issac Cardona's two free throws with five seconds left and RAMIR BURTON's runner at the buzzer fell short sending the Hilltoppers to a 60-59 defeat at the hands of Lubbock Christian Thursday evening at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
St. Edward's (18-7, 10-7 HC) opened the game scoring the first four points. A jumper by Burton and two free throws by JOHN GRAMLICH gave the Hilltoppers a 4-0 lead. That would be the last lead St. Edward's would hold in the first half. St. Edward's struggled shooting the basketball at 32 percent in the first half. However, eight offensive rebounds kept the Hilltoppers close.
 
Ahead 25-22 with 4:38 remaining in the half, Lubbock Christian (14-10, 11-6 HC) ended the half on a 10-3 run to close the period with a 10-point advantage, 35-25.
 
In the second half, the Chaps kept their lead hovering around the 10-point mark. St. Edward's would come to within four points on two occasions, but it was the third time that the Hilltoppers made their move. After a layup from Mgbolu with 3:46 cut the deficit to four, two free throws from Burton dropped the Chap lead to two points with 1:45 left on the clock. After a free throw by Lubbock Christian with 1:01 remaining, Gramlich nailed a jumper to cut the lead to one with 46 seconds. Down on the other end of the floor, Gramlich came up with a huge steal. After a foul by Lubbock Christian, Burton hit two more free throws to give St. Edward's its first lead with 34 seconds left.
 
The Chaps would miss their shot with nine seconds left and they committed a foul. St. Edward's missed the first freebie of a one-and-one and that set the stage for the final stanza.
 
Mgbolu led the Hilltoppers with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of his career. Burton added 13 points, while HARLEY NUSSMAN tallied seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
Cardona led the Chaps and all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He was also 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they travel to take on Heartland Conference rival Panhandle State. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in Goodwell, Okla. Live coverage will be available on the Aggie Athletic Website.
 
                                             Heartland           Overall
Team (Preseason)                 W-L                   W-L
St. Mary's (2)                           12-5                   15-9
UT-Permian Basin (4)            11-6                   16-9
UA Fort Smith (1)                   11-6                 15-10
St. Edward's (9)                      10-7                   18-7
Newman (8)                             9-8                   13-10
Dallas Baptist (7)                     8-8                   14-10
TAMU-International (3)         5-12                 10-15
Panhandle State (11)             1-15                   3-21
Rogers State* (5)                    12-5                   18-7
Lubbock Christian* (6)          11-6                 14-10
Oklahoma Christian* (10)     3-14                   5-18
 
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
February 16
OC 96, DBU 91
 
February 19
UTPB 93, OPSU 61
STMU 61, TAMIU 57
NU 90, UAFS 88
RSU 89, OC 74
LCU 60, SEU 59
 
February 21
TAMIU at DBU                             2:00 PM
UTPB at LCU                                3:00 PM
UAFS at OC                                   3:00 PM
SEU at OPSU                                3:00 PM
RSU at NU                                    3:00 PM
 
February 23
STMU at DBU                               7:00 PM
 
February 26
DBU at UAFS                                7:00 PM
OPSU at TAMIU                           7:30 PM
NU at UTPB                                  7:30 PM
OC at SEU                                     7:30 PM
LCU at SEU                                   7:30 PM
 
February 28
NU at SEU                                    3:00 PM
OPSU at STMU                             3:00 PM
LCU at TAMIU                              3:00 PM
UAFS at RSU                                 3:00 PM
OC at UTPB                                  3:00 PM
 
March 2
DBU at RSU                                  6:00 PM