HONOLULU – The St. Edward's men's basketball team bounced back from its first loss in nine games with a 76-66 win over the Simon Fraser Red Leafs, closing the game on a 17-7 run over the final six minutes.
First-year big man SEAN ELKINTON led five Hilltoppers in double figures, scoring 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double in 12 collegiate career games.
Elkinton entered the starting lineup after two games to give the pace-and-space Hilltoppers some much-needed size. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound freshman forward, has obliged, leading the Lone Star Conference in double-doubles by finding the production in the little things, setting screens, boxing out, and deterring drivers long enough for defenders to recover.
Simon Fraser tested the young big man early, going to their own young big man, Georges Lefebvre, whose size mirrors Elkinton's own.
The first few minutes of the game was a contrast in how to utilize frontcourt players, with Simon Fraser going directly through Lefebvre. However, Elkinton held his ground on the first defensive possession, sitting on feints and pivots to force a bad shot.
While Simon Fraser Lefebvre carte blanche to dig into a bag of drop steps, spins, and face-up jumpers, Elkinton responded with more workman-like production, hitting the offensive glass, screening teammates open, and making himself available for pick-and-pop jumpers and interior passes for layups.
Elkinton scored the Hilltoppers' first five points, going at Lefebvre in the post with an off-balance hook shot but overpowering him for the offensive rebound and a short jumper. He then followed for a pick-and-pop 3-pointer. A few possessions later, he rebounded a MASON HIX missed 3-pointer to reset the Hilltoppers' possession and made a nice one-touch pass to Hix for a pair of free throws.
UCHE DIBIAMAKA stole an outlet pass and found Elkinton in the paint for an easy layup. Elkinton followed with an offensive rebound and putback off a GAVINO RAMOS layup for nine points in less than seven minutes of play as part of a 9-0 run for an early 16-10 lead.
BENNETT MOHN and BLAKE NIELSEN provided some scoring punch off the bench, with Mohn hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Nielsen scoring nine points on four shots. However, outside Elkinton, Nielsen, and Mohn, the rest of the Hilltoppers struggled from the field, shooting a combined 2-for-14.
That was enough to give Simon Fraser a foothold, getting nine first-half points from Lefebvre on 4-for-8 shooting and seven from Elliot Dimaculangan on four shots, taking a 33-31 lead at the half.
St. Edward's rediscovered its ball movement to open the second half, assisting on its first three baskets after the break. First, Ramos threaded the needle on a crosscourt bounce pass in transition for a layup, then Elkinton found Hix cutting to the basket from the post, and Ramos found Elkinton running down the middle of the floor on a delayed fast break.
Both teams battled back and forth with five lead changes through the first part of the second half. Simon Fraser made a brief 6-0 run to take its largest lead at 48-43 on a Dimaculangan 3-pointer with 12:32 remaining.
St. Edward's bench trio of CARSON TUTTLE, Nielsen, and Mohn worked alongside starters JEFF GARY and Elkinton to help close the gap. Nielsen scored on a floater off a beautiful crossover and spin move, Gary hit a pull-up jumper off a behind-the-back stepback, and Tuttle found Mohn for a corner 3-pointer off an inbounds play to tie the game. Then Mohn hit another 3-pointer with a foul off a Nielsen dribble handoff for a four-point play and a 54-50 lead.
The lead stayed within six points over the next few minutes. Simon Fraser got as close as 60-59 with 6:30 remaining, but Gary quickly gave the Hilltoppers some breathing room with a fallaway jumper in the paint.
Ramos followed with two big passes, finding Nielsen slipping an off-ball screen for a layup. Then Elkinton blocked Lefebvre's ensuing hook shot on one end, and Ramos found the big man inside for a layup on another. Elkinton poked the ball loose from Lefevre on the next defensive possession, and Gary drew a foul on the fast break, hitting both free throws as part of an 8-0 run. Ramos helped ice the game with four free throws down the stretch, and Gary closed it out with a pair of his own.
St. Edward's continued to struggle from deep, hitting 2-for-7 in the second half, but found its ball movement, assisting on seven of its 16 made field goals after the break and shooting 59.3 percent from the floor.
Gary scored 10 points in the second half, doing most of his work from the free-throw line, shooting 6-for-6 to finish with 12 points. Hix, whose off-ball shooting and cuts often work as a barometer of the offense, scored eight of his 10 points after the break on 4-for-6 shooting. Nielsen and Mohn finished with 13 points each, shooting a combined 9-for-14. The Hilltopper defense limited Simon Fraser to 35.5 percent shooting in the second half.
St. Edward's improves to 10-2 with the win. The Hilltoppers will close out their Hawaii trip with a 9:45 p.m. game against Emmanuel College (Ga.).
