AUSTIN, Texas – The week's winter storm downed power throughout Austin, but as the sun broke through the clouds on Saturday morning, the St. Edward's men's basketball offense had no shortage of electricity in a 90-77 win over the Texas-Tyler Patriots.
All five St. Edward's starters scored in double figures and individually shot 50 percent or better to overwhelm Texas-Tyler. The starting backcourt of JEFF GARY and GAVINO RAMOS was especially potent, combining for 37 points on 21 shots, exacting some revenge for a previous road loss in Tyler, Texas.
Texas-Tyler opened the game on fire, hitting seven of its first eight shots, including 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point line to take an early 18-14 lead. Rashun Williams poured in five points over that stretch, while St. Edward's opened 5-for-9 with two turnovers.
St. Edward's responded with a 15-0 run, getting 10 points from sophomore point guard GAVINO RAMOS in three minutes. Ramos hit a 3-pointer off a feed from BLAKE NIELSEN, stepped behind a SEAN ELKINTON dribble handoff for another 3-pointer, then converted a 4-point play, draining a 3-pointer assisted by JEFF GARY and converting the free throw. MASON HIX capped off the run with free throws for the 29-18 lead.
Texas-Tyler pulled within six at 33-27 with 4:20 remaining in the half, but St. Edward's closed the first on a 10-6 run from Gary, Ramos, and Elkinton.
Both teams hit 13 field goals in the half, but St. Edward's hit three more 3-pointers than Texas-Tyler and outscored the Patriots 10-3 from the free-throw line. Ramos led the Hilltopper offense with 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting, all from 3-point territory. Garry added nine points on five shots, and Nielsen set the table with six assists to give St. Edward's a 43-33 lead at the break.
Texas-Tyler made a quick 9-0 run near the start of the second half, hitting 4-of-5 to pull within seven at 52-45 with 15:06 remaining. However, St. Edward's responded with a 9-0 run of its own.
UCHE DIBIAMAKA sparked the run with an authoritative dunk from a Nielsen feed. Then, Ramos stole the ball from Jordan Hairston and found Gary for the open 3-pointer. Dibiamaka followed with another steal and dunk, followed by a Nielsen floater near the elbow for the 61-45 lead.
The Patriots' Rashun Williams found his rhythm in the season half, scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting after the break, draining 4-of-6 from deep. But the Patriots couldn't string together enough stops to get back into the game, trailing by double figures for most of the second half.
After playing less than five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Dibiamaka scored eight of his 11 points in the second half on 4-for-4 shooting, finishing with three rebounds and three steals. Nielsen went from finding his teammates to calling his own number for 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting after the break, finishing one assist shy of a double-double with 13 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and no turnovers. Ramos used the added attention he received to dish out five assists, finishing with 17 points, six assists, and four steals.
Gary scored 11 points in the half, hitting 3-of-5 from deep, to lead the team with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Elkinton continued his solid play with 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting, grabbing seven rebounds and swatting two shots.
The Hilltoppers assisted on 21 of their 32 made field goals, forcing 13 turnovers with eight steals and outscoring the Patriots 17-4 in points off turnovers, including 10-2 off fast breaks.
St. Edward's improves to 17-7 with an 11-4 conference record and will host Dallas Baptist on Monday at 3:00 p.m.
