AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's men's basketball scored 49 second-half points to defeat the Southwestern University Pirates 81-58 in the first game of a four-game homestand. 
 
BENNETT MOHN and JAMISON KAY got their first starts of the season and combined for 31 points to lead four Hilltoppers in double figures. After a solid 12-point performance in the Hilltoppers' win over Western New Mexico, Mohn earned the start against Southwestern and led the Hilltoppers with nine first-half points, keeping the Pirates at bay through a cold-shooting first half. 
 
With starting big SEAN ELKINTON unavailable for the night, St. Edward's struggled in the first half, hitting just 9-of-29, including 2-for-14 from deep. 
 
Mohn made his presence felt early on the defensive end, swiping the ball on one end and racing down for a layup on the other. He followed that up with a layup and foul, scoring five of St. Edward's first eight points. He also scored a layup off a feed from BLAKE NIELSEN and another off an assist from Kay to lad all scorers at the half with nine points on 4-for-8 shooting. JEFF GARY added eight with seven rebounds, and the Hilltoppers led 32-28 at the break. 
 
GAVINO RAMOS came to life with ten points in the second half, combining with Mohn for two early 3-pointers, both off feeds from Nielsen. Ramos was active on defense and on the glass in nearly 16 second-half minutes, pulling down seven rebounds and recording four steals. Ramos's 11 rebounds were a career-high, and he also contributed 14 points for the double-double. 
 
Nielsen settled into a playmaking rhythm with five of his eight assists in the second half, finding Kay twice for layups. 
 
Kay settled in with the starters in the second half, scoring 14 of his 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, hitting 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, and grabbing seven of his eight rebounds. 
 
The Hilltoppers shot 18-for-30 (60 percent) in the second half, including 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) while limiting Southwestern to 11-for-32 shooting and generating seven steals. St. Edward's did its damage by getting into the paint, where it outscored Southwestern 24-10 over the final 20 minutes. Nico Mur led Southwestern with 15 points on nine shots, and Luke Mills added 11. 
 
Mohn finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting with three rebounds and two steals. Gary added 15 points and seven rebounds, hitting 3-for-5 from deep. 
 
St. Edward's improves to 7-3 with the win. The Hilltoppers will host Midwestern State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Cameron on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.