SAN ANTONIO – St. Edward's men's basketball and Central Oklahoma went down to the wire in overtime, but the Hilltoppers could not close out a final defensive possession with a rebound in a 78-74 loss to the Broncos. 
 
LEWIS ROWE led St. Edward's with 20 points and seven rebounds, and Connor McManus added 19 points and nine rebounds, hitting five 3-pointers, but the Hilltoppers were outscored 36-18 from beyond the 3-point line.
 
Central Oklahoma established 6-foot-10 center Luke Haasl early, drawing fouls for four free throws early, and buttressed that with a Parker Hannah 3-pointer for the 7-4 lead. St. Edward's countered with its own big man. GAVINO RAMOS found Rowe for a dunk, Rowe drained a hook shot, and Ramos hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at nine off a feed from MASON COURTNEY. 
 
Both teams exchanged buckets until Central Oklahoma gained separation with an 8-0 run midway through the first half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Jarreth Ingram and Hannah and a tip-in from Israel Hart to give the Broncos a 24-17 lead with 8:14 remaining in the half. Hart got into the paint for three first-half layups and extended the Broncos' lead to 31-20 with a 3-pointer at 4:24, finishing the first half with 11 points and four rebounds. 
 
Ramos resonated with a pair of free throws, CONOR MCMANUS drained a 3-pointer, and Ramos capped off an 8-1 run to close the half with a driving layup through contact for an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the deficit to 32-28 at the half, leading St. Edward's with eight points at the break. 
 
St. Edward's carried the momentum into the second half, scoring the first six points. Ramos found JAMISON KAY inside on the first possession, Rowe followed with a turnaround jumper, and then Kay found Rowe for another layup for the 34-32 lead. 
 
Jacobi Sebock ended the run with a steal and layup to tie the game, but Ramos answered by finding McManus for a 3-pointer and driving layup. Once again, Central Oklahoma put together a run midway through the half, reeling off nine consecutive points with two 3-pointers and a 3-point play to take a 47-41 lead eight minutes into the second half. 
 
The Broncos' lead hovered around that for the next eight minutes until Rowe got inside for two layups, Courtney hit a pull-up jumper to tie the game, and Ramos found McManus for another 3-pointer for the 60-57 lead. 
 
Rowe extended the lead to five on an offensive rebound and putback, but Hart scored eight points in the final two minutes, including a clutch 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game. 
 
St. Edward's got a look to win the game, but Haasl blocked Ramos's driving layup, and McManus missed the second-chance opportunity as time expired. 
JV Seat scored the first overtime points, draining a 3-pointer for Central Oklahoma, who led from start to finish in overtime. Seat scored all nine of his points in overtime, hitting 3-for-4 from deep, while McManus led St. Edward's with five. 
 
Hart led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-5 from deep. Sebock had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and Hannah scored 11 off the bench. Kay supplemented Rowe and McManus's scoring with 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and Ramos added 10 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
 
St. Edward's drops to 8-5 with the loss. The Hilltoppers will take a holiday break and return on Jan. 3, hosting Texas A&M International, followed by a Sunday game against Texas A&M-Kingsville.