AUSTIN, Texas— The St. Edward's Men's Basketball team registered a loss, 94-92, in an absolute nail biter of a game against Dallas Baptist Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
 
Both teams knew that intensity would be high, having gone into overtime earlier in the season when the Hilltoppers met the Patriots at their home court in Dallas. Unlike Saturday's contest, St. Edward's came out on top in their first meeting.
 
Just as anticipated, Dallas Baptist (13-8, 7-6 HC) and St. Edward's (16-6, 8-6 HC) came out swinging in the opening minutes of the first period. Patriot Shannon Lilly hit a shot from downtown to give the visitors a 9-8 edge. The match began to open up more in favor of Dallas Baptist as they stretched the lead to 16-12. Two jumpers from RAMIR BURTON and ETHAN GILBERT brought the Hilltoppers within two, but Lilley was just starting to heat up. Two three pointers and a fade away jumper gave Dallas Baptist an eight-point advantage, 30-22, with 9:13 remanining.
 
Being lead by Lilley, Dallas Baptist controlled the majority of the first half. A five-point play including Lilley's fourth three pointer of the half and two charity buckets from Jordan Pratt brought the spread to 12 points, 42-30. St. Edward's fought to close the gap and as the half closed, they found themselves down 51-41.
 
The second half was an all out dogfight. Eight unanswered points from the home team and suddenly the Hilltoppers were three points shy of the Patriots, 59-56. Myles Johnson came alive for Dallas Baptist in the second half, however. A three-point play, a three pointer and a pair of free throws all from Johnson put the Patriots back into control at 66-58, with 10:42 remaining in the contest.
 
Hilltopper AUBRIE KING proved to be a valuable sixth man as he hit a huge momentum-swinging three-pointer to put the Hilltoppers within five points, 66-61, at the 9:56 mark. Lilley and Johnson continued to work for the Patriots, but it was obvious that St. Edward's was mounting a comeback. HARLEY NUSSMAN's dunk off an assist from RAMIR BURTON closed the space to four points, 74-70. Nussman made another big play to tie the game, 76-76 as he tipped in a layup from Mgbolu with 1:17 left in regulation.
 
With under a minute to go, Johnson nailed a three pointer to put the visiting team up 81-78. With 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Mgbolu responded with a three-point play on the other end to bring on overtime.
 
Mgbolu led the charge into overtime scoring six of the first eight points for the Hilltoppers. Driving into the lane, Mgbolu was fouled and had an opportunity for the three-point play but couldn't capitalize leaving St. Edward's trailing 90-89. JOHN GRAMLICH brought the Hilltoppers to a 92-92 tie with a clutch three pointer off an assist from Burton with 23 seconds remaining.
 
With five seconds to go in overtime, Lilley looked to seal the deal for the Patriots forcing his way into the paint. He was awarded a foul and made good on both free throws, 94-92. Mgbolu tried to force a second overtime racing down the court and driving hard. Although he made his layup, the referees called travelling and the ballgame was over.
 
Mgbolu had a career-high of 28 points. He went 8-for-12 from field and registered eight boards. Burton had a notable performance putting up 21 points and five assists. Down low, HARLEY NUSSMAN and TREY LINDSEY earned 11 and 10 points, respectively. Nussman also had four blocks. JOHN GRAMLICH recorded seven points and two steals.
 
St. Edward's now sets their sights on St. Mary's. The Battle of the Saints will take place on Thursday at the RCC. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Live coverage will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
 
                                             Heartland           Overall
Team (Preseason)                 W-L                   W-L
St. Mary's (2)                           10-4                   13-8
UA Fort Smith (1)                    9-5                    13-9
UT-Permian Basin (4)             8-5                    13-8
St. Edward's (9)                       8-6                    16-6
Dallas Baptist (7)                     7-6                    13-8
Newman (8)                             7-7                    11-9
TAMU-International (3)          5-9                   10-12
Panhandle State (11)             1-12                   3-18
Lubbock Christian* (6)          10-4                   13-8
Rogers State* (5)                     9-5                    15-7
Oklahoma Christian* (10)     2-12                   4-16
 
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
February 7
DBU 94, SEU 92 (OT)
OC 104, OPSU 71
LCU 79, NU 67
RSU 76, TAMIU 59
STMU 72, UAFS 66
 
February 9
DBU at UTPB                               4:00 PM
 
February 12
OC at NU                                      7:30 PM
OPSU at RSU                                7:30 PM
STMU at SEU                               7:30 PM
LCU at UAFS                                 7:30 PM
TAMIU at UTPB                           7:30 PM
 
February 14
NU at DBU                                    2:00 PM
TAMIU at SEU                              3:00 PM
STMU at UTPB                             3:00 PM
LCU at RSU                                   3:00 PM
OPSU at UAFS                              3:00 PM