SAN ANTONIO – Freshman center SEAN ELKINTON scored a career-high 24 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Hilltoppers to a 75-66 win over the St. Mary's Rattlers in the regular-season finale. 

It was Elkinton's conference-leading 11th double-double this season, wrapping up his first collegiate regular season averaging 13.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on 58.8 percent shooting, which ranks second in the league. 

His presence helped offset another St. Edward's cold shooting night from beyond the 3-point line, hitting just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from distance but outscoring St. Mary's 44-38 in the paint. 

Elkinton set the tone in the first half with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, offsetting a balanced attack from St. Mary's in which Tyler Caron, Emmanuel Ewuzie, Caleb Jordan, and Ryan Leonard scored six points each by scoring six of St. Edward's last 10 points in the half to take a 39-26 lead at the break. 

St. Edward's struggled to contain Caleb Jordan in the second half, surrendering 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting but were outstanding in limiting everyone else by holding the Rattlers to 36.4 percent shooting from the field. 

Elkinton continued to shine with 12 points and nine rebounds in the second half, and JEFF GARY broke out of a recent shooting slump to score nine in the half on 3-for-5 shooting. 

St. Mary's kept the game close and even took the lead on a Tyler Caron 3-pointer with 5:26 remaining. However, St. Edward's reeled off a 12-0 run to take a 10-point lead with 1:09 remaining. 

Gary finished with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting. BLAKE NIELSEN added 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting and five assists, while GAVINO RAMOS scored 10 points with five assists. 

St. Edward's wraps up the regular season with a 21-10 record, including 15-7 in conference play. The Hilltoppers will play in the Lone Star Conference Tournament beginning Thursday, March 2.