AUSTIN – Receiving the ball off a dribble handoff at the top of the key, BLAKE NIELSEN surveyed the court and allowed the defense to string out his dribble wide, waiting for the play to develop as Sean Elkinton rolled behind the defense for a quick-hitting layup.
The play was one of eight assists for Nielsen on a night in which the St. Edward's men's basketball team assisted on 22 of its 30 made field goals to defeat the Southwestern Pirates 89-58 in the final game before conference play.
St. Edward's faced a shorthanded Division III team on the court but worked towards a larger goal than a check in the win column, using the game as an opportunity to sharpen its execution and commit its offense to muscle memory.
"I told the guys before the game, if you put all the Lone Star teams on the highway, there's a path for us to a championship and into the NCAA Tournament," men's head basketball coach Andre Cook says. "But we can't deviate from that path. We must play a certain way, with precision passing and cutting, running the offense the right way, and understanding the scouting report."
The Hilltoppers used the advantages that show when a scholarship program plays a non-scholarship program, outrebounding the Pirates 40-28 with 11 offensive rebounds while forcing 19 turnovers with 11 steals. Elkinton was at the forefront of that, using his 6-foot-8 frame to overpower Southwestern inside for 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 10 rebounds for his second collegiate double-double. But the Hilltoppers didn't lean on those advantages as a crutch.
St. Edward's passed up good shots for great ones, patiently allowing the offense to develop through multiple actions to keep the defense off balance. GAVINO RAMOS was the early beneficiary, scoring 13 of his 16 points in the first half, shooting 5-for-7 for the game and making 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line.
"I was happy for Gavino with how he played, scoring a game-high 16 points on seven shots," Cook says. "He was a big recruit out of San Antonio for us, and we need him."
Forward MASON HIX added eight points, four rebounds, and three assists in the first half, spacing the floor and facilitating from the high post. BENNETT MOHN added nine first-half points off the bench, hitting 3-for-5 from deep. Nielsen set the table for much of the half, assisting on three layups and a pair of 3-pointers in the half. Through six games, the 6-foot-6 sophomore wing leads the team with 25 total assists coming off the bench. In many ways, his play epitomizes the style Cook believes his team needs to play to win, reading the floor and processing information quickly, connecting actions to keep defensive rotations chasing the ball.
All evening, the Hilltoppers used an off-ball screen or cut to gain an advantage, then pressed that advantage with a series of quick-hitting passes ahead of the defensive rotations. St. Edward's assisted on 15 of its 17 made field goals in the first half, shooting 17-for-37 overall and 10-for-20 from deep to lead 50-27 at the break.
The Hilltoppers kept the ball moving in the second half, though it struggled to convert on the same open looks, shooting 2-for-13 from deep after the break. Elkinton led the Hilltoppers with eight second-half points on five shots as both teams went deep into their benches with the game out of hand.
St. Edward's improves to 5-1 with the win and leads the Lone Star Conference with 20.5 assists per game. The Hilltoppers will open conference play by hosting Eastern New Mexico on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
