AUSTIN, Texas – RAMIR BURTON scored the 1,000^th point of his career on Saturday as St. Edward's Men's Basketball survived a knock-down, drag-out fight against St. Mary's, 69-65.
 
With the win, the Hilltoppers improve to 5-3 in the Heartland Conference and move to 12-4 on the year. St. Mary's drops to 2-6 and 6-10 overall.
 
Burton came into the game with 999 career points, and made quick work of getting to 1,000. He surpassed the milestone with a layup just two minutes and 10 seconds into the first half. The junior would finish the game with a team-high 14 points in a balanced attack, and also led the team with three assists.
 
JOHN GRAMLICH, FRANKIE MGBOLU, and ETHAN GILBERT all scored in double digits as well. Gramlich put up 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting with two makes from behind the arc. Mgbolu went 4-for-6 from the field, and finished with 11 points and a steal. Gilbert slipped into double digits with 10 points and five boards. QUINTON LILLEY's seven rebounds led the Hilltoppers on the glass, while AUBRIE KING and CORY MCKENDREE each denied a pair of shots.
 
"We're happy to get a win against St. Mary's. I'm hoping getting that win will relieve some stress and some tension for the guys," said head coach Andre Cook. "We kind of blew a lead at UT-Permian Basin. We had a 10-point lead against Texas A&M-International, and this was starting to slip away a little bit. There are things to clean up, but it's a league win. It's a tough win. It's still St. Mary's."
 
Following Burton's historic moment, St. Edward's quickly erased St. Mary's early lead and took a slim, 7-6, advantage on the Rattlers. Gilbert quickly extended the lead to six with back-to-back baskets, including one coming from three-point land. Another make from behind the arc by Gramlich widened the gap to seven at 15-8.
 
The Rattlers slithered back within two of the Hilltoppers, but coach Cook's team would have none of it. SEAN WATKINS' fastbreak layup, with 8:44 to play, sparked a 10-0 run for the home team, putting the Hilltoppers comfortably ahead, 30-18. St. Edward's maintained that cushion through the end of the half.
 
After halftime, the game turned into a physical battle with over 10 fouls whistled before the first media timeout.
 
As St. Mary's battled back within five points, tension escalated and Gilbert was charged with a flagrant-one foul at the 11:38 mark. After cooling off on the bench, Gilbert reentered the game with 9:23 to play. He quickly redeemed himself with back-to-back baskets to push St. Edward's lead to 55-45, an advantage they would not relinquish. Timely layups from Mgbolu at critical moments in the final minutes helped stave off a Rattler comeback.
 
Despite getting outrebounded by the visitors, the Hilltoppers matched St. Mary's scoring production in the paint, and used a 19-13 advantage in points off of turnovers to clinch the win. St. Edward's also out-blocked the Rattlers, 5-3 and held a slight edge in shooting percentage, 44-41.
 
Coach Cook and his team get a much-needed break before going on the road to face Panhandle state next Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Goodwell, Oklahoma at the Oscar Williams Field House. Fans can go to GoHilltoppers.com for links to live stats and video of the game.
 

Heartland Conference Standings
Team	HC	Overall
TAMU-International	7-1	12-4
UA Fort Smith	5-2	12-3
Dallas Baptist	5-2	11-4
St. Edward's	5-3	12-4
Rogers State*	5-3	13-3
Newman	4-3	11-4
Lubbock Christian	4-3	10-5
UT-Permian Basin	3-5	8-8
St. Mary's	2-6	6-10
Panhandle State	1-7	8-8
Oklahoma Christian	1-7	4-12
* Not eligble for postseason play
Saturday, Jan. 16
St. Edward's def. St. Mary's, 69-65
Dallas Baptist def. Oklahoma Christian, 95-60
TAMU-International def. UT-Permian Basin, 77-49
Rogers State def. Panhandle State, 102-71
Lubbock Christian at UA Fort Smith, 7:00 PM
Thursday, Jan. 21
St. Edward's at Panhandle State, 7:30 PM
UT-Permian Basin at Lubbock Christian, 8 PM
Rogers State at Newman, 7:30 PM
UA Fort Smith at Oklahoma Christian, 7:30 PM
St. Mary's at TAMU-International, 7:30 PM