SAN ANGELO, Texas – Despite opening the game on a 13-0 run the St. Edward's men's basketball team dropped their non-conference contest against Angelo State 68-65 Sunday evening.
SEU led by nine as late as 3:47 remaining in the first half, but ASU started to chip away and eventually took the lead, sending the Hilltoppers into the locker room down three, 38-35.
The second half was a nail-biter the entire way, with six ties and four lead changes in the frame. A
JAKE KRAFKA three followed by
DANIEL VENZANT's free throw and
B.J. MAXWELL's layup put St. Edward's up four, 63-59, with 1:24 to play.
Angelo State's Kevon Godwin hit an off-balance three-pointer in the corner off an out of bounds play to put the Rams in the lead, 65-63, as the clock ticked under 30 seconds. Krafka had the response with a jumper in the lane to tie the game with 12.6 seconds to play. ASU inbounded the ball, drove the length of the court and Godwin hit a tough layup while drawing the foul. Godwin's ensuing free throw sealed the win for the Rams.
SEU was held to 37.9 percent from the floor and 30.6 percent from three-point range while getting just four points from the charity stripe. ASU shot 42.1 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from long range while going 13-17 from the free throw line.
Maxwell,
RYAN GARZA and Krafka all posted 14 points to lead the Hilltoppers while
KIJANA LOVE added nine.
LOGAN COOK had a team-high 11 rebounds while Venzant had three steals and eight assists.
With the loss, St. Edward's falls to 8-3 on the season and remain at 5-2 in the Lone Star Conference. They return home to face one of the hottest teams in the conference, Texas A&M-Kingsville, on Thursday at 7 pm.