AUSTIN, Texas – Despite double-digit nights from RAMIR BURTON, TREY LINDSEY, and FRANKIE MGBOLU, St. Edward's Men's Basketball was unable to knock off the conference-leading Dustdevils of Texas A&M-International. The Hilltoppers fell by one point, 61-60.
 
The loss moves St. Edward's to 11-4 overall, and 4-3 in the Heartland Conference. TAMU-International improves to 11-4 and 6-1.
 
Burton led the Hilltoppers with 14 points on 3-for-6 shooting, and eight points from the free-throw line. Lindsey added 11 points with seven rebounds and a block, while Mgbolu scored 10 with two assists and a steal. On the glass it was all QUINTON LILLEY as he led all rebounders with nine. JOHN GRAMLICH and SEAN WATKINS added a pair of steals as well.
 
"This is a tough one to take. We led by 10 and had opportunities to make it 14 or 15, but we could never get away from them," said head coach Andre Cook. "This is how they play. It's grind-it-out and it's physical. We had to be ready for that challenge, and I thought, for the most part, we were. We had the ball in Frank's (Mgbolu) hands, down one, and we would take that 100 times out of 100."
 
The game opened with hints of a low-scoring affair as each team only scored six points in the first four minutes of play. Coming out of the first media timeout, the Hilltopper defense continued to hold strong, holding the Dustdevils scoreless for the next two minutes.
 
With 10:24 to go in the half, trailing by five, a pair of free throws from Burton sparked an 11-0 run to put St. Edward's up by five. However, an 8-3 run from TAMU-International would hold the Hilltoppers in check. With under a minute to go, and St. Edward's up by one, JAMES TAYLOR found the bottom of the net from behind the arc to give his team a four-point advantage as time expired.
 
At two points in the second half coach Cook's team led the Dustdevils by 10, but mediocre shooting would doom the home team. Despite an acrobatic layup from Mgbolu to pull his team within one, the Hilltoppers only scored three points in the final four minutes. They ended the night shooting 36 percent from the field and 16 percent from behind the arc. However, the home squad was able to outscore the opposition off turnovers, 20-9.
 
The men continue play on the hilltop this Saturday in the ongoing "Battle of the Saints", as St. Mary's comes to Austin for a men's and women's doubleheader. Tipoff for the men's game is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live stats and video streaming will be available at GoHilltoppers.com with in-game updates on Twitter at @SEUMBasketball.
 

Heartland Conference Standings
Team	HC	Overall
TAMU-International	6-1	11-4
UA Fort Smith	5-2	12-3
Dallas Baptist	4-2	10-4
St. Edward's	4-3	11-4
Rogers State	4-3	12-3
Newman	4-3	11-4
Lubbock Christian	4-3	10-5
UT-Permian Basin	3-4	8-7
St. Mary's	2-5	6-9
Panhandle State	1-6	8-7
Oklahoma Christian	1-6	4-11
* Not eligble for postseason play
Thursday, Jan. 14
TAMU-International def. St. Edward's, 61-60
UA Fort Smith def. Panhandle State, 95-77
UT-Permian Basin def. St. Mary's, 85-76
Newman def. Oklahoma Christian, 72-63
Rogers State def. Lubbock Christian, 69-61
Saturday, Jan. 16
St. Mary's at St. Edward's, 3:00 PM
Oklahoma Christian at Dallas Baptist, 2:00 PM
TAMU-International at UT-Permian Basin, 3:00 PM
Panhandle State at Rogers State, 3:00 PM
Lubbock Christian at UA Fort Smtih, 7:00 PM