AUSTIN, Texas – Senior guard JOHN GRAMLICH scored a career-high 29 points Saturday to lead St. Edward's to a 109-103 victory over Newman at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
 
St. Edward's (15-9, 7-4 Heartland) had three players score over 20 points to push the team to a tie for second place in the league standings. Newman (6-13, 4-6 Heartland) drops to eighth.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• St. Edward's shot 56 percent from the field in the first half, leading for all but 16 seconds.
• Leading 74-73 with 13:05 remaining, the Hilltoppers went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes.
• The run opened a double-digit lead for St. Edward's and they never looked back.
• Newman rallied in the final three minutes but the Hilltoppers were a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line to clinch the victory.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• Gramlich was 8-for-13 from the field, which included four makes from the 3-point line.
• Senior ETHAN GILBERT (21) and junior SEAN WATKINS (20) hit the 20-point mark.
• This was the second time this season the Hilltoppers had three players score over 20 points. (12/15/16 vs. Schreiner)
• St. Edward's registered 20 assists for the second straight game with Watkins (7) leading the way.
• St. Edward's leads the all-time series, 13-8, and breaks a two-game losing streak against the Jets.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ANDRE COOK
"We knew that we needed to score, and keep scoring. We just had to get stops, and we got enough of them today. Newman is a tough team to guard. We just had to stay the course with our principles. Offensively, our ball movement was excellent. Our four veterans shared the ball and that led to good offense."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's continues its homestand Saturday, Feb. 4th with a 3 p.m. matchup against Oklahoma Christian inside the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live stats and video will be available at www.GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: St. Edward's 109, Newman 103
Records: St. Edward's (15-9, 7-4 Heartland), Newman (6-13, 4-6 Heartland)
Leading Scorers: St. Edward's-Gramlich (29), Newman-Nwosu (29)
Attendance: 428
 
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Team                           Conference                Overall
TAMU-International             8-3                         14-7
St. Edward's                        7-4                         15-9
Rogers State                       7-4                         14-7
Lubbock Christian                6-3                         12-7
Dallas Baptist                      6-3                         12-7
UA Fort Smith                      6-5                         13-10
St. Mary's                             5-6                         8-13
Newman                               4-6                         6-13
Oklahoma Christian             3-8                         8-11
Panhandle State                  0-10                       5-14
For the latest updates on the St. Edward's men's basketball team, follow us on Twitter at @SEUMBasketball.