AUSTIN – The St. Edward's men's basketball team will open the 2019-20 season at the D2 Conference Challenge, hosted by Colorado Christian, in Lakewood, Colorado, this weekend. The Hilltoppers will play two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents over a two-day span.

D2 CONFERENCE CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 8 – St. Edward's vs. Colorado Mesa, 12 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, Nov. 9 – St. Edward's at Colorado Christian, 2 p.m. (CT)

ABOUT THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's, which is led by 11th-year head coach Andre Cook, will open the campaign ranked 20th in the preseason National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, which was released in October.

The Hilltoppers played only one exhibition game in the preseason, taking down Division I Rice, 89-83, on Oct. 31 in Houston. ASHTON SPEARS poured in a game-high 27 points, while DORIAN LOPEZ tallied a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Cook's squad returns 12 letter winners and all five starters from last year's team that posted a 30-4 record. St. Edward's captured both the Heartland Conference regular-season and tournament championships before advancing to the NCAA South Central Region final for the first time in program history.

Only two newcomers have been added to this year's roster – JAKE KRAFKA, a junior transfer from Division I Denver, and CARSON MURPHY, a freshman guard from San Antonio.

SPEARS NAMED PRESEASON LONE STAR CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
St. Edward's senior guard ASHTON SPEARS was selected as the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year. The Independence, La., native shared the honor with Tarleton State's Josh Hawley.

Spears was named the Heartland Player of the Year, the TABC Small College Player of the Year and a NABC All-District First Team selection a year ago after averaging 19 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.2 assists per game.

HILLTOPPERS PICKED SECOND IN LSC PRESEASON POLL
St. Edward's finished second in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll, as the Hilltoppers garnered 14 first-place votes. SEU was picked to finish behind West Texas A&M, which collected 27 first-place votes.




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