LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M-International gave St. Edward's a huge punch in the gut to start the second half, in the form of an 18-0 run. The Hilltoppers responded with a 21-0 run to answer as it took down the Dustdevils, 72-64 at the Recreation and Kinesiology Building Saturday afternoon in Heartland Conference play.
ETHAN GILBERT and
RAMIR BURTON both led the Hilltoppers with 14 points each.
JOHN GRAMLICH added 11 points and team-high four assists, while
QUINTON LILLEY chipped in with 11 points and team-high seven rebounds off of the bench.
TREY LINDSEY was also in double figures with 10 points.
Playing their first game without its senior point guard
FRANKIE MGBOLU, St. Edward's (16-8, 9-7 HC) knew it had its work cut out for them. The first half saw the lead change hands four times in the first 10 minutes of action. The Hilltoppers used a quick 7-0 run just under the 10-minute mark to take a 21-15 advantage with 9:13 remaining in the half.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Gilbert pushed the lead to eight points with 4:30 on the clock. St. Edward's led at intermission, 32-27.
In the second half, the first seven minutes belonged to the home team. TAMU-International (15-9, 10-6 HC) went on a 22-2 run that gave them a 15-point advantage. Kenny Hatch had eight points while Jake Eynon added two treys.
The Hilltoppers did not back down. St. Edward's used the next seven minutes to go on a 21-0 run. During the run, the Hilltoppers made three treys and got a three-point play from Lindsey.
CORY MCKENDREE had three free throws off of the bench. Lilley started the run with a three-pointer and Gramlich made two more. The Hilltoppers defense forced the Dustdevils into two turnovers and 0-of-5 shooting from the field during the spurt.
SEAN WATKINS, who was making his first collegiate start, was also huge as he made two free throws at the 1:08 mark to push the lead to eight. He followed with a steal at midcourt and found a streaking Lilley for the fast-break layup to make it a double-digit lead with under a minute to play.
"I am really proud of our guys," head coach Andre Cook said. "They have battled adversity all week with guys being out with injuries, and we battled more adversity in this game getting down by 15 points in the second half. There were so many contributors today, but I would like to give great credit to
CORY MCKENDREE. He has continued to work hard all year and he produced big time today."
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Thursday when they host Lubbock Christian. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
| Heartland Conference Standings | | |
| Team | HC | OVERALL |
| Dallas Baptist | 12-3 | 18-5 |
| Rogers State* | 11-5 | 19-5 |
| UA Fort Smith | 11-5 | 18-6 |
| Lubbock Christian | 11-5 | 17-7 |
| TAMU-International | 10-6 | 15-9 |
| St. Edward's | 9-7 | 16-8 |
| Newman | 7-9 | 14-10 |
| UT-Permian Basin | 7-9 | 12-12 |
| St. Mary's | 5-11 | 9-15 |
| Oklahoma Christian | 3-12 | 6-17 |
| Panhandle State | 1-15 | 8-16 |
| *-Not Eligible for Postseason Play | | |
| | |
| Saturday, February 13 | | |
| St. Edward's def. TAMU-International, 72-64 | | |
| Dallas Baptist def. Newman, 88-87 | | |
| UT-Permian Basin def. St. Mary's, 73-59 | | |
| UA Fort Smith def. Panhandle State, 106-77 | | |
| Lubbock Christian def. Rogers State, 99-70 | |
| | |
| Monday, February 15 | |
| Dallas Baptist at Oklahoma Christian | 7:00 PM |
| |
| Thursday, February 18 | |
| Lubbock Christian at St. Edward's | 7:30 PM |
| Panhandle State at UT-Permian Basin | 7:30 PM |
| Oklahoma Christian at Rogers State | 7:30 PM |
| Newman at UA Fort Smith | 7:30 PM |
| TAMU-International at St. Mary's | 7:30 PM |
