AUSTIN – The St. Edward's men's basketball team built a big lead with its free-flowing offense, maintained it with physical defense, and survived a chaotic final few minutes to defeat Western New Mexico University 86-79. 

BLAKE NIELSEN led a balanced attack with six Hilltoppers in double figures, scoring 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting, hitting 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, with a rebound and four assists. 

The defense set the tone with a strong first half, limiting the Mustangs to 12-for-30 shooting (40 percent) in the first half, including 3-for-9 from deep; forcing six turnovers to just six assists. 

St. Edward's offense was once again bolstered by its bench in the first half, getting quality playmaking from reserves BLAKE NIELSEN and CARSON TUTTLE and quality defense and off-ball shooting and movement from BENNETT MOHN. 

The two guards have been stellar all season, reading defenses like tea leaves and making the type of rapid decisions that boost the Hilltopper offense into overdrive combining for eight assists and no turnovers in the first half. 

Tuttle works as the caretaker point guard, getting the offense into its sets, spacing the floor, and making the right read, scoring five points on two shots with four assists. Nielsen is the swiss army knife, working on and off the ball two steps ahead of the defense. The sophomore team captain worked the defense with an array of crafty pivots, spins, floaters, and flip shots for 13 first-half points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, hitting 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. 

The duo entered the game for the first time at the 14:23 mark and immediately made an impact with Tuttle finding MASON HIX for a 3-pointer, followed by Nielsen scoring a three-point play with a layup and foul, converting the free throw. They entered the game with a 9-7 deficit and swung the game, leading 38-26 checked out, and a 47-33 lead at half. 

St. Edward's assisted on 12 of its 17 made field goals in the first half, hitting 53.1 percent from the field (17-for-32), including 4-for-10 from behind the 3-point line. 

The Hilltopper offense stagnated in the second half, shooting just 8-for-25 from the field, including 3-for-12 from deep with four assists to nine turnovers, while Western New Mexico went on a run by continuously attacking the paint, outsourcing the Hilltoppers 26-8 inside. St. Edward's compensated for its shooting woes by getting to the free-throw line, hitting 20-for-23 in the second half, led by JEFF GARY's 9-for-9 performance to finish with 16 points for the game. 

As Western New Mexico whittled away the St. Edward's lead, SEAN ELKINTON and Mohn stopped the bleeding with their defensive play. Mohn used his length and mobility to harrass the Mustangs' guards on the perimeter, drawing a key offensive foul fighting through a screen. He also moved off-ball for a few cuts to the rim, finishing with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting to go with three rebounds, two foulds drawn, two steals, and a block. 

Elkinton had a crucial four-minute stretch starting with a huge block at the 5:33 mark, followed by a strong move in the post to score on a soft hook shot, another block, a pass from the post to a cutting Gary that drew a foul and a pair of free throws, a big rebound in traffic on the defensive end, and a pair of offensive rebounds on one possession, drawing a foul on his second board, knocking down both free throws to give the Hilltoppers an 80-66 lead with 2:45 remaining. The first-year big scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds with two blocks and two assists. 

Western New Mexico answered with a 3-pointer from Joshuwan Johnson over a closeout, then extend its defense to force three consecutive turnovers as part of a 9-0 scoring run to pull within five with 1:15 remaining. 

Point guards CARSON TUTTLE and GAVINO RAMOS helped ice the game at the free-throw line and UCHE DIBIAMAKA made a big defensive play, cutting off the baseline to force DJ Heath out of bounds.

With its sixth consecutive win, St. Edward's record improves to 7-1 with a 2-0 conference record. The Hilltoppers will travel to Wichita Falls, Texas, to play Midwestern State next Saturday at 6:00 p.m.