LAREDO, Texas – RAMIR BURTON scored 20 points but it was not enough as St. Edward's dropped an 88-78 decision Thursday to Texas A&M-International in the Kinesiology and Convocation Center.
 
St. Edward's (16-10, 8-5 Heartland) lost for the first time in four games and falls into a tie for fifth place in the conference. TAMU-International (15-9, 9-5 Heartland) jumps into a tie for third place with the win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• TAMU-International took an early 13-6 lead in the game's first five minutes.
• With three minutes left in the first half, Burton made four straight free throws to give St. Edward's a 32-31 lead.
• A Dustdevils' 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the home team a 41-40 lead at halftime.
• In the second half, TAMU-International took a double-digit lead with about 10 minutes remaining.
• St. Edward's battled back, using a three-point play by Burton to pull within two points with 3:33 remaining.
• Two makes from the 3-point line and some timely free-throw shooting down the stretch helped the Dustdevils pull out the critical win.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• Burton was 4-of-9 from the floor and 12-for-14 from the free-throw line.
• Burton also led the team with seven rebounds and two steals.
• TAMU-International outrebounded the Hilltoppers, 37-25. Ten rebounds came on the offensive end.
• St. Edward's trails the all-time series, 12-11.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ANDRE COOK
"With the league race being so tight, every loss hurts. Our guys battled and I am proud of them for that, but mental breakdowns on the defensive end cost us. We have no time to sulk or feel sorry for ourselves. We have to figure out a way to get a win in San Antonio on Saturday."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's is back in action Saturday when it travels to face rival St. Mary's at 3:00 p.m. in the Greehey Arena. Live stats and video will be available at www.GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: TAMU-International 88, St. Edward's 78
Records: St. Edward's (16-10, 8-5 Heartland), TAMU-International (15-9, 9-5 Heartland)
Leading Scorers: St. Edward's-Burton (20), TAMU-International-Hatch (18)
Attendance: N/A
 
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Team                           Conference                 Overall
Rogers State                       10-4                       17-7
Dallas Baptist                      9-4                         15-8
UA Fort Smith                      9-5                         16-10
TAMU-International             9-5                         15-9
St. Edward's                        8-5                         16-10
Lubbock Christian                8-5                         14-9
St. Mary's                             6-8                         9-15
Newman                               5-8                         7-15
Oklahoma Christian            3-10                       8-13
Panhandle State                  0-13                       5-17

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