TULSA, Okla. – With one upset victory under its belt, St. Edward's Men's Basketball was looking for a second one in Saturday's Heartland Conference Semifinals against top-seeded Arkansas Fort Smith. However, it was not to be, as the Hilltoppers fell, 82-79 in overtime.
 
After trailing by as many as eight in the first half, head coach Andre Cook pushed his team back into the lead behind the shooting of JOHN GRAMLICH, AUBRIE KING, and RAMIR BURTON. Gramlich led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field. King shot 50 percent from three, and finished with 12 points after timely baskets tied the score and gave St. Edward's the lead. Burton, the team's leading scorer, finished with 16 points and four assists.
 
FRANKIE MGBOLU also added four assists while TREY LINDSEY and QUINTON LILLEY combined for 16 points. The three seniors combined for eight rebounds and two steals in their final game.
 
The appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament Semifinals is the Hilltoppers' second in as many years. St. Edward's season comes to a close with an overall record of 18-12.
 
"It was a hard-fought game, right from the beginning," said Cook. "Fort Smith is as talented of a team as any in the South Central Region. I'm proud of how our guys fought and competed. They've done that every game. The finality of season-ending losses is so abrupt. It hurts so much, particularly with a game like that when you have a shot to win it at the end. I'm just so proud of these guys, and it's a tough, sad ending."
 
An early lead for the Lions, and poor shooting by the Hilltoppers, gave no sign of what was to come. Fort Smith pushed its lead all the way to 17-9, with 10 minutes to play in the half, before the battle truly began.
 
At the 9:17 mark, King came off of a screen, and drained a three to cut the Lion lead to five. A foul on the play allowed King to convert the free throw and make it 17-13. Burton continued the run with a three pointer of his own, and Lindsey made it three-straight, giving St. Edward's its first lead of the game. A back-and-forth battle ensued, and at the halftime buzzer the score was 33-29 in favor of the Lions.
 
The second half led to more dogfighting, as each team found the bottom of the basket from long range, and muscled shots up from the paint. Gramlich tied the game at 37 with 16:47 to play, and Lindsey did the same with 14:56 to go.

Fort Smith continued to retake the lead, but an upset-bid was still on Coach Cook's agenda. At the 5:55 mark, King buried another three, putting the Hilltoppers up by two, and a fast-break layup for Gramlich made the lead four. As time continued to tick away, no team was able to pull away. A layup for ETHAN GILBERT, with one minute remaining, tied the game at 71. Last-second attempts for both teams were unsuccessful.
 
Overtime was another battle, but unfortunately for the Hilltoppers there were not enough converted opportunities before time ran out.
 
The Hilltoppers lose four seniors in QUINTON LILLEY,COREY GUDERYAHN, Mgbolu, and Lindsey who have already earned their bachelors degrees from St. Edward's. Mgbolu leaves his name imprinted as the program's all-time steals leader. Guderyahn, who earned his varsity spot after being cut his freshman year, finishes the season with the team's second-leading leading free-throw percentage on attempts in the final four minutes. Lilley, Lindsey, and Mgbolu all overcame season-ending injuries in their careers to make it to Saturday's game. In the post-game press conference, Mgbolu and Lindsey both expressed the desire to leave a legacy of hard work, and a team-first mindset.
 
Fans can continue following the team in the offseason at GoHilltoppers.com, and by following them on Twitter at @SEUMBasketball.