A grueling Lone Star Conference offers no rest for the weary. Still, a St. Edward's men's basketball team that returned from its Hawaii trip jetlagged and shorthanded will at least be refocused when it hits the road for games against UT-Tyler and Dallas Baptist.

St. Edward's has been without leading scorer JEFF GARY since returning from Hawaii. The Hilltoppers split its pair of home games, dissecting Texas A&M-International before fading late against Texas A&M-Kingsville for their first conference loss. 

"The TAMIU-Kinsgville games are always a tough, physical weekend. We were sharp and ready to play both games, and I thought we competed," St. Edward's head men's basketball coach Andre Cook says. "I've been doing it a long time as a head coach, and you'll lose some games. We looked a little tired in the second half on Sunday. That's when it hit us playing those physical teams shorthanded. I wasn't upset with how we lost, but I was disappointed with how we executed things in the final four minutes. I can help these guys through that." 

In Sunday's postgame interview, Cook cited the inexperience of the lineup featuring sophomores BLAKE NIELSEN and GAVINO RAMOS, second-year Hilltopper BENNETT MOHN, and freshman center SEAN ELKINTON. 

And while it's true St. Edward's ranks second in the LSC in scoring offense (79.6 points per game), scoring margin (10.7), assists per game (17.5), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57) despite junior JAYLEN GORDON being the longest-tenured Hilltopper, the team does need some of the refinement that only comes with experience together. 

Elkinton has been a stalwart presence in the lineup as a freshman, leading the LSC with five double-doubles. His statistical profile shows the talent on hand, and Sunday's game against Texas A&M-Kingsville was the first on-court adversity he's faced with foul trouble limiting him as fifth-year center Will Chayer produced a strong second half. 

"We're 15 games into the season, so there's a lot of film on our 18-year-old center. Teams see how important he is on both sides of the ball, so they're starting to go at him," Cook says. "Will Chayer is at least 23. Sean was in middle school when Will arrived at Kingsville. So we're asking Sean to do a lot as an 18-year-old: defending older guys, communicating our ball screen coverages, and getting every rebound. He's been terrific, and we're happy he's here." 

The Hilltoppers will get an opportunity to gain more reps against a tough defense at UT-Tyler (6-4, 2-4). The Patriots rank second in the LSC scoring defense, fourth in field-goal percentage defense, and first in rebounding and 3-point percentage defense. On the other end, UT-Tyler puts the ball in the hands of Rashun Williams, a 6-foot-7 scoring guard who ranks third in the conference with 17.2 points per game. 

St. Edward's faced a similar opponent in Hawaii against Emmanuel College's KJ Jones II, who was second in the nation in scoring, which might serve as something of an inoculation for its defense. Williams is a little less efficient with .336/.694/.288 shooting splits, but he is still a difficult matchup with his size and versatility. 

"He is similar to B.J. Maxwell, a guy who played for us a few years ago. He can score in a variety of ways. He'll hit catch-and-shoot 3-pointers or back you in and use his length. He's the definition of a scorer, and we'll have to deal with him," Cook says. "They're similar to the two teams we just played. They're going to play hard and come at us in waves. They're going to play physically and aggressively with multiple defenses to try and keep us off balance." 

Dallas Baptist (9-5, 4-2) has dropped two of its past three conference games with road losses to Eastern New Mexico and Oklahoma Christian but is a perfect 5-0 at home. 

Like St. Edward's, Dallas Baptist moves the ball with a purpose (third in the LSC in assists per game) and precision (third in assist-to-turnover ratio), leading to the third-best field goal percentage in the conference. The Patriots force turnovers, ranking first in the conference in steals and second in 3-point percentage defense – though they've given up the second-most 3-point attempts (396). 

The Patriots have a balanced attack with three averaging double figures while shooting near or better than 45 percent from the field, including 56.6 percent shooting from leading scorer Cameron Kahn (12.6 points per game). 

"They've been to the NCAA Tournament six of the past seven years. Their staff has been together for a long time. They know what they're doing," Cook says of Dallas Baptist. "They've recruited to be more athletic, but historically they're on point with their scouting reports, play hard and play together. Dallas Baptist will not give you anything; you must beat them."