LAWTON, Okla. – Another night, another hero for the St. Edward's Hilltoppers men's basketball team, who got a career-high 22 points on a blistering 7-for-11 shooting from CARSON TUTTLE to defeat the Cameron Aggies 79-70.
Tuttle and BLAKE NIELSEN continue to anchor a second unit running roughshod over its Lone Star Conference counterparts, outscoring the Aggies 34-10 in bench points behind a combined 34 points and six assists from the dynamic bench duo.
At least on this occasion, the real star of the show might be the egalitarian offense designed by St. Edward's head men's basketball coach Andre Cook. St. Edward's ranks fifth in the nation in assists per game (19.7) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82), hitting an LSC-best 9.6 3-pointers per game.
Cook's offensive schemes have produced five different leading scorers in five consecutive games, getting enormous efforts from SEAN ELKINTON, BLAKE NIELSEN, MASON HIX, and GAVINO RAMOS in the previous four games. The ability to implement complex off-ball movement and recruit the players who fit that style has made the Hilltoppers a constant despite the rotating faces over Cook's 14 seasons.
It's why with the win over Cameron – Cook's 230th at St. Edward's – he's now the all-time leader in wins in St. Edward's men's basketball history, surpassing Ed Norris's 229 earned from 1948-1965.
The Hilltoppers were without the services of UCHE DIBIAMAKA–the team's lone returning all-conference player–for the night. Still, St. Edward's plugged BENNETT MOHN into the starting lineup and went to work.
St. Edward's led by five points when Tuttle and Nielsen checked in, and the pair quickly extended the lead to 14. Despite being in the system for mere months, Tuttle has already shown mastery of it. The transfer from West Texas A&M-Commerce is second in the league in assists per game (4.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6.20).
The 5-foot-11 guard isn't a high-volume playmaker, but he's been an insanely efficient one, averaging 8.5 points per game while shooting .537 from the field and .417 from beyond the 3-point line with 33 assists to only six turnovers.
Tuttle drained 3-of-5 from deep in the first half, working off feeds from Mohn, Nielsen, and JEFF GARY for 11 first-half points. Both teams struggled from the field, shooting 40.0 and 32.4 percent before the break, but the Hilltoppers outscored the Aggies 15-3 from beyond the 3-point line to take a 35-27 lead at halftime.
Caylen Goff-Brown sparked Cameron in the second half, scoring 11 points as part of a 24-17 run to bring the Aggies to within one at 52-51 with 10:08 remaining. However, JEFF GARY kept the Hilltopper offense afloat, scoring 11 points over those nine minutes before Nielsen and Tuttle went to work.
Nielsen gave the Hilltoppers some breathing room with a made layup. Then, after a missed Cameron jumper, Mohn found Tuttle for a top-of-the-key 3-pointer. Tuttle then threaded a pass to Elkinton for a layup out of the pick and roll for a 59-51 lead.
Cameron scored back-to-back buckets answered by a Gary drive for a layup, then two possessions later, Tuttle tracked down a long defensive rebound and found Nielsen with the hit ahead pass for a dunk.
Both teams traded baskets, with Nielsen taking over with his playmaking down the stretch, finding Tuttle for a 3-pointer after his pick-and-roll with Elkinton collapsed the defense, delivering a no-look pass to Elkinton for a layup, and then making a beautiful spin baseline and finding Elkinton on the dump-off pass leading to a pair of made free throws. Finally, Tuttle put the nail in the coffin with a pull-up 3-pointer to give the Hilltoppers a 73-64 lead with 2:40 remaining.
In addition to Tuttle's 22 points, Gary had 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Elkinton finished one rebound shy of another double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Nielsen added 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists to round out the Hilltoppers' double-digit scorers.
The Hilltoppers improved to 9-1 with the win and 4-0 in conference play. St. Edward's will travel to Hawaii to compete in the Hoops in Hawaii Holiday Classic presented by Outrigger Resorts and Hotels, playing Chaminade, Simon Fraser, and Emmanuel College from Dec. 18-19.
