AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's men's basketball scored 57 points in the second half to overcome a slow start in a 91-85 victory over the Colorado Christian Cougars in the Hilltoppers' home-opener on the first day of the LSC/RMAC Challenge. 
 
SEAN ELKINTON led the Hilltoppers with 25 points and 16 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, doing most of his work in a dominant second half. 
 
GAVINO RAMOS led St. Edward's early, hitting his first two 3-point attempts and a driving layup for eight points in the first five minutes for an early lead. Colorado College responded to early pressure with ball movement to generate a pair of corner 3-pointers and a blocked shot by Noah Kon that led to a pull-up 3-pointer in transition by Shaylen Woodberry to cap off an 8-0 run for an 11-7 lead. 
 
St. Edward's struggled offensively, finishing the half with more turnovers (eight) than assists (six) while shooting just 10-for-33 (30.3 percent) from the field. 
 
Colorado Christian's Woodberry and Kon broke free for a combined 19 points, hitting 5-for-8 from deep to help build the lead up by as much as 12 points with 4:42 remaining in the half. 
 
St. Edward's found its footing defensively, going to a man-to-man scheme and switching all ball screens to disrupt the Cougars' offense. The move sparked an 11-5 run to close out the half, as the team held Colorado Christian to 2-for-9 shooting over the final five minutes and got five points and a big block from BLAKE NIELSEN. 
 
Ramos led the Hilltoppers with 12 points on six shots at the break. Nielsen added seven points and five rebounds, and Elkinton started slow with five points and six boards. 
 
St. Edward's carried the momentum of the first half into the start of the second, scoring the first nine points of the half, with all nine coming from Elkinton and Gary, capping off the run with a feed from the latter to Elkinton for a basket and foul for the 3-point play and a 43-39 lead. 
 
After Nic Zeil slowed the Hilltopper momentum with a 3-pointer, Elkinton answered with a turnaround jumper. Then, GAVINO RAMOS stole the ball for a fast-break layup for the 47-42 lead, prompting a quick timeout from Colorado Christian. 
 
The Cougars responded with a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 50-49 on a Brenden Patrick pull-up jumper and foul, but St. Edward's turned to Nielsen and Elkinton to steady the ship. 
 
Elkinton opened the run with a driving layup and then found Nielsen for a layup. Ramos hit Elkinton with a pass for a monster dunk, and JAYDEN JOHNSTON was a spark off the bench, making four quick free throws to give the team a 59-52 lead and finishing the half with six points in six minutes. 
 
Colorado Christian slowly cut into the lead, pulling to within three at 71-68 on a layup by Zeil with 7:38 remaining. Elkinton and Nielsen kept the Cougars at bay, connecting on three high-low passes from Nielsen to Elkinton in a 90-second span. 
 
Elkinton scored 20 points on 12 shots and grabbed ten rebounds after the break, while JEFF GARY kept the defense honest with 14 second-half points, hitting 2-for-2 from deep, 4-for-5 from the field, and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line to finish with 20 points on eight shots. 
 
Nielsen added 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Ramos finished with 17 points on eight shots to round out the four Hilltoppers in double figures. 
 
Kon led Colorado Christian with 26 points and seven rebounds, hitting 4-for-5 from deep. Patrick scored 16 off the bench, and Woodberry added 12. 
 
St. Edward's improved to 3-1 this season and will host Colorado Mesa tomorrow at 4 p.m. after the latter lost its season opener to Dallas Baptist in the first game at the RAC.