ODESSA, Texas – After JAMES TAYLOR's three-pointer in the waning seconds sent the game to overtime, St. Edward's blitzed UT-Permian Basin in the extra period to defeat the Falcons, 107-93, Thursday evening on the road at the Falcon Dome. The victory keeps the Hilltoppers in a three-way tie atop the Heartland Conference standings at 4-1.
 
Taylor led five Hilltoppers in double figures with a career-high 20 points. JOHN GRAMLICH, FRANKIE MGBOLU and RAMIR BURTON all scored 19 points, while AUBRIE KING added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
It was a total team effort as the Hilltoppers had five players foul out, but the bench outscored the Falcon bench, 44-13.
 
UT-Permian Basin (6-6, 1-3 HC) started the game on a 9-4 run in the first four minutes of action. Gary Akbar had a three-point play and Johnnie Lacy added a miraculous four-point play from the corner to cap off the run.
 
The lead would expand to seven points at the 13:35 mark, but St. Edward's (11-2, 4-1 HC) had the answer. Two free-throws and a layup by Mgbolu to go along with a three-pointer by Gramlich after Mgbolu produced an offensive rebound tied the score, 13-13, with 11:59 remaining in the first half.
 
The Falcons would go back ahead by four points after an Anthony Knight three-pointer with 8:21 remaining, but Taylor came off of the bench to score 10 points to give the visitors a 41-38 lead at the break.
 
In the second half, UT-Permian Basin opened on a 10-4 run in the first three minutes. Lacy had eight points during the run, which included two shots from behind the arc to give the Falcons a three-point advantage.
 
That is when Burton and Taylor took over. Burton, who was held scoreless in the first half went off for 14 points, while Taylor added seven points. The duo had the Hilltoppers with an 81-73 lead with 2:48 remaining.
 
Eight free throws from Lacy, a three-point play by Knight, and a jumper by Akbar gave UT-Permian Basin an 86-83 lead with seven seconds left.
 
As the Falcons chose not to foul, Taylor got free on a high screen and pop, and the redshirt freshman drained a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
 
In the extra period, St. Edward's scored the first five points on a jumper by Gramlich and a three-point play from Taylor. A deep three-pointer by King and a layup by Burton pushed the lead to double digits with two minutes remaining. Six free throws by the Hilltoppers down the stretch sealed the game for St. Edward's.
 
St. Edward's scored the most points this season with 107 points on 48.1 percent shooting (37-77).  It was the second-most points scored in the Andre Cook era. St. Edward's scored 109 in a defeat of Huston-Tillotson during the 2013-14 season.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Monday when they open up a three-game home stand with a game against Dallas Baptist. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.