AUSTIN, Texas – A few days after gutting out an ugly game to defeat Dallas Baptist, the St. Edward's Hilltoppers men's basketball team returned to its beautiful ball-movement offense in an 81-77 victory over the Arkansas Fort Smith Lions.
The Hilltoppers were brutally efficient, shooting a collective 54.7 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line on 32 attempts, and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line.
After displaying his shooting prowess with an 18-point performance on nine shots against Dallas Baptist, including the game-winning 3-pointer with a second remaining, GAVINO RAMOS showed off his playmaking chops. The sophomore point guard set the table for a career-high 11 assists to go with 11 points to record his first collegiate double-double.
Ramos brimmed with confidence, opening the game with a driving layup, drawing a charge, and hitting a long-distance catch-and-shoot 3-pointer off a feed from JEFF GARY as part of a 9-3 run in the first three minutes.
Arkansas Fort Smith closed the gap with brilliant first-half performances from Payton Brown and Drew Miller, who combined for 28 points. Brown was a constant thorn in St. Edward's side, moving tirelessly off-ball through a thicket of screens for a pair of 3-pointers and driving lanes to the rim, finishing with physicality and touch more than quickness or speed.
However, for every run the Lions made, St. Edward's answered. Ramos recorded his first four assists in a four-minute stretch midway through the first half, finding UCHE DIBIAMAKA for a pair of 3-pointers and BENNETT MOHN and MASON HIX for one each in the first half. Ramos also found SEAN ELKINTON inside for a layup and drew the defense's attention on a drive and missed shot, giving Elkinton an easy offensive rebound and putback.
The freshman center scored eight of his 16 points in the first half, finishing 7-of-10 from the field with seven rebounds, tying BLAKE NIELSEN for a team-high eight points at the half, giving St. Edward's a 40-37 lead.
St. Edward's offense hit a bit of a lull in the second half, allowing Arkansas Fort Smith to pull within four with 13 minutes remaining. Head coach Andre Cook turned to Hix off the bench for energy and shooting, and the senior forward answered the call.
Hix opened his second-half run with two defensive plays, blocking Daryl McElrath's floater on the baseline on one end and draining a 3-pointer off a feed from Ramos on the other. A few minutes later, Ramos found Hix for back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the Hilltoppers' lead to 65-57 with 6:40 remaining.
Hix hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the second half and finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Arkansas Fort Smith scored back-to-back layups to pull within four at 65-61, but Elkinton stripped Jaxon Ingram, leading to a fast-break 3-pointer from Ramos to Dibiamaka. Then, after a pair of Lion free throws, Ramos found Elkinton for another 3-pointer and a nine-point lead.
The Lions were able to cut the deficit to two again with 30 seconds remaining, but Gary hit a pair of free throws, then found Dibiamaka for an alley-oop dunk, followed by two more free throws to ice the game.
St. Edward's assisted on 20 of its 29 made field goals with only 12 turnovers. The Hilltoppers improved to 19-7 with a 13-4 conference record and will host Oklahoma Christian on Saturday for Senior Day.
