AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's men's basketball struggled to find its range and keep up with St. Mary's guard Caleb Jordan in a 79-76 loss to the Rattlers in the Battle of the Saints. 

Freshman center SEAN ELKINTON led four Hilltoppers in double figures with 21 points and ten rebounds, hitting 9-for-11 from the field and both free-throw attempts. He also fought defensively against St. Mary's centers Emmanuel Ewuzie and Mamady Djikine, forcing both to shoot over the top of his outstretched arms. 

At times, St. Edward's offense moved fluidly in a symphony of touch passes between sophomores GAVINO RAMOS and BLAKE NIELSEN, along with Elkinton. 

Nielsen dissected the Rattlers' defense with his assortment of spin moves and passes, scoring 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting with seven assists. Ramos struggled from the field but compensated with his playmaking, dishing out six assists. 

Reserve forward MASON HIX made the most of his 11 minutes against a larger St. Mary's team, surrendering height and weight in the paint against Ewuzie but making St. Mary's big man pay on the other end, scoring 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting. 

St. Edward's couldn't string enough plays together to capture the momentum. The Hilltoppers made their most significant push on a 10-0 run over the final four minutes of the first half, finding Elkinton inside for six points, getting an emphatic block from UCHE DIBIAMAKA, and four points from BLAKE NIELSEN to take a 43-40 lead. However, Caleb Jordan was fouled on a wild pull-up 3-point attempt in the final seconds, sinking all three free throws to tie the game at the half. 

Jordan was on fire throughout the game, scoring 23 points on various difficult drives, stop-on-a-dime pull-up jumpers, and off-balance step-back jumpers. Ewuzie scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 20 minutes, and Jalon Johnson added 13, scoring primarily on difficult floaters just outside the lane. 

Conversely, the Hilltoppers struggled to convert on open looks outside, hitting 5-for-22 from deep and 43.9 percent overall. 

St. Edward's falls to 20-10 with a 14-7 conference record. The Hilltoppers have one more regular-season road game against St. Mary's before playing in the Lone Star Conference Tournament.