AUSTIN – St. Edward's men's basketball allowed just 18 first half points on their way to an easy 80-49 win over St. Francis to open their home slate.
The Hilltoppers took a cautious start to the game, running through their full offensive set to get the best look at the hoop but soon led by double digits after turning up the pressure, 21-9. USF pulled within six points, 22-16, with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, but St. Edward's held the Saints to just two points in the final seven minutes to lead 34-18 at the break.
SEU shot out of the halftime break to quickly extend their lead to 25, 47-22 on Bennet Mohn's three. By the 3:30 remaining mark,
GAVINO RAMOS gave the Hilltoppers a 31-point advantage for the first time, 72-41, and St. Edward's never looked back while closing out the win.
The Hilltoppers shot 48.3 percent from the floor and was led by
DANIEL VENZANT who posted 15 points.
JAKE KRAFKA and
GAVINO RAMOS added 13 points each while
LUKE PLUYMEN added 12. Krafka and
UCHE DIBIAMAKA grabbed five boards each while
MASON HIX recorded three steals to lead SEU.
St. Edward's improves to 2-1 on the year while St. Francis falls to 3-2. They two teams will finish their series on Sunday with tipoff scheduled for 1 pm.
