AUSTIN – It took nearly a full extra half of action, but St. Edward's men's basketball emerged victorious with a 111-108 win over Western New Mexico in triple overtime Thursday evening.
 
St. Edward's had a slight seven point advantage at the half, 43-36, but the Hilltoppers were unable to pull away in the second half as the Mustangs hung close.
 
With the game tied 77-77, WNMU won the tip in the first overtime and seemed to have full control of the game while leading nearly the entire five minutes. The Mustangs had a 92-89 lead after a three by Johnson, leaving just over one second left on the clock for the Hilltoppers to go the length of the floor to tie the game.
 
The Hilltoppers did just that with a baseball pass to the top of the key to BLAKE NIELSEN who quickly hit Bennet Mohn on the left wing. Mohn's off-balance three got off just in time and drained through the net as time expired to send the game into a second overtime.
 
In the second overtime, it was SEU that had a two point advantage with just eight seconds left after UCHE DIBIAMAKA's layup, putting the count at 98-96. Johnson was fouled on his last second three-point attempt to keep the Mustang's hopes alive. Johnson hit two of three to tie the game at 98 and force a third overtime.
 
With the game tied 108-108 with 17 seconds remaining in the third overtime, DANIEL VENZANT came through in the clutch, hitting a tough layup with under a second remaining while drawing the foul. He hit the resulting free throw to put the Hilltoppers up three. With less than a second on the clock, WNMU was unable to get a real look at the basket as time expired.
 
Venzant ended with 35 points to lead all scorers while Dibiamaka added 25, Mohn 12 and LUKE PLUYMEN 11. BLAKE NIELSEN led on the glass with 13 rebounds.
 
St. Edward's improves to 10-9 on the year and 3-5 in Lone Star Conference action. They return to action on Monday, hosting West Texas A&M at 3 pm.