AUSTIN, Texas – With less than a minute remaining and JEFF GARY receiving a pass with just one last line of defense at the end of a broken press, senior MASON HIX sprinted to the rim from the opposite sideline and gestured to the sky.
Gary obliged, throwing the ball up in the air for Hix to throw down the exclamation point on a 94-79 win over Oklahoma Christian on Senior Day with an alley-oop dunk.
A few seconds later, the Hilltoppers intentionally fouled Oklahoma Christian to allow Hix to leave the game to a rousing ovation from the Recreation and Athletic Center crowd, finishing his afternoon with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting and four rebounds off the bench.
When he exited the game, fellow Senior Day honoree UCHE DIBIAMAKA was among the first to greet him. Dibiamaka missed the game due to injury but was as excited as any to celebrate his teammate in their mutual penultimate home game.
And as much as the day was about celebrating the finals games of two student-athletes, the game was equally a glimpse of the future with the young trio of BLAKE NIELSEN, GAVINO RAMOS, and SEAN ELKINTON combining for 60 points.
Nielsen was unstoppable in his approach, setting screens or moving off them to get into favorable matchups, then punishing them for 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting, finishing a variety of hook shots and floaters off spins and step-throughs. Ramos followed two sterling performances this week with a 20-point effort, adding five assists and five rebounds to balance his game. And Elkinton remained as solid and reliable as ever, scoring a quiet 19 points on 10 shots with five rebounds.
Junior JEFF GARY added 14 points and four assists, hitting 4-for-5 from deep to go with four assists and two steals.
It was an outstanding offensive performance that didn't start so promising. The first half was a low-scoring affair. St. Edward's shot 12-for-32 from the field, including 2-for-13 from deep. Oklahoma Christian's 6-foot-9 forward Antonio Gordon led the Eagles to an early four-point lead, scoring 13 first-half points on various turnaround jumpers and step-through layups from the post.
St. Edward's generated a few clean looks but struggled to convert anything until a 9-0 run near the end of the half sparked by a three-point play on a layup and free throw by Ramos and punctuated by a hook shot from Nielsen to lead St. Edward's to a 30-26 lead at the break.
The Hilltoppers followed the same processes in the second half. They started to convert on open looks, creating even better ones against an Oklahoma Christian defense left a step behind.
St. Edward's opened up a double-digit lead with an 8-0 run five minutes into the half, with back-to-back layups, a free throw from Ramos, and a 3-pointer by Elkinton off a pass from Gary for a 48-36 lead with 14:49 remaining.
The lead remained in double digits for most of the half, occasionally dipping just below that mark only to quickly be put back. St. Edward's was nearly unstoppable, torching the nets with a blistering 23-for-29 performance from the field, including 8-for-13 from deep. The Hilltoppers also shot 10-for-11 from the free-throw line.
St. Edward's improves to 20-7 with the win, including 14-4 in conference play. The Hilltoppers will hit the road next week to play Lubbock Christian on Thursday, then West Texas A&M on Saturday.
