AUSTIN, Texas – A late comeback attempt fell short Saturday as St. Edward's men's basketball dropped a 91-80 decision to Lubbock Christian at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
St. Edward's (17-14, 9-9 Heartland) fell behind as many as 24 points to Lubbock Christian but rallied to cut the lead to seven points in the closing minutes. However, the Chaparrals, closed out the victory with timely free throw shooting.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• St. Edward's took a 7-4 lead in the game's first three minutes.
• Lubbock Christian fought back by scoring the next 20 points to open up a 24-7 lead.
• The lead stayed in double digits the rest of the first half thanks to 60-percent shooting from the field by the Chaparrals.
• In the second half, the lead swelled to as many as 24 points.
• Sophomore JAMES TAYLOR came off the bench to spark a Hilltoppers rally as the forward hit four shots from the 3-point line on his way to 17 second-half points.
• St. Edward's cut the lead down to seven points with 2:52 remaining, but Lubbock Christian was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to close out the game.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• Taylor led the Hilltoppers with 17 points while senior RAMIR BURTON and junior SEAN WATKINS added 16 points each.
• With six free throws made, Burton becomes the school's single season free throw leader with 173 made shots. He breaks the old record of 169 set by DeNell Davis in the 1983-84 season.
• Watkins led all players with seven assists.
• St. Edward's trails the all-time series with Lubbock Christian, 13-7.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ANDRE COOK
"This has been a confusing team for me all year. Sometimes we look great and other times we are not very good. I guess that's why we are 9-9 in the conference. We were awful in the first half and spotted a very good team way too big of a lead. We have one more chance to try and get it right next week in Tulsa."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's advances to the Heartland Conference Tournament Friday in Tulsa, Okla. The 6-seeded Hilltoppers will face 3-seeded UA Fort Smith at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Lubbock Christian 91, St. Edward's 80
Records: St. Edward's (17-14, 9-9 Heartland), Lubbock Christian (18-10, 12-6 Heartland)
Leading Scorers: St. Edward's-Taylor (17), Lubbock Christian-Schuster (19)
Attendance: 353
 
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS
 
#1 Dallas Baptist vs. #8 Newman
#2 Texas A&M-International vs. #7 St. Mary's
#3 UA Fort Smith vs. #6 St. Edward's
#4 Rogers State vs. #5 Lubbock Christian

For the latest updates on the St. Edward's men's basketball team, follow us on Twitter at @SEUMBasketball.