AUSTIN, Texas – SEAN ELKINTON scored on an offensive rebound with 31 seconds remaining, and St. Edward's held tough on a final defensive stand for an 88-87 win over the top-ranked team in the nation, West Texas A&M, ending its 22-game win streak. 
 
Before the season, head coach Andre Cook challenged his team to play stronger to withstand the Lone Star Conference's physical Saturday games. 
 
The Hilltoppers entered the week still seeking signature wins after tough, competitive losses to Dallas Baptist and Angelo State earlier in the season. They pulled out a significant 91-84 victory over Lubbock Christian on Thursday in a rematch of last year's Lone Star Conference Tournament's first round. 
 
St. Edward's carried momentum into its most challenging Saturday game of the season, firing on all cylinders to open the game against West Texas A&M. 
 
The Hilltoppers put the top-ranked Buffalos on their heels with a 19-9 run over the first six minutes, including ten consecutive points, hitting seven of their first 14 shots and getting eight points from BENNETT MOHN, who often serves as a barometer of the offense. 
 
St. Edward's rarely tasks the 6-foot-6 forward with creating his own shots. Instead, Mohn works within the offensive flow with two or fewer dribbles before shooting or moving the ball. When the offense is at its free-flowing best, the ball finds Mohn, and he, in turn, spaces the floor to keep the offense free-flowing. 
 
Mohn scored St. Edward's first points on a backdoor cut off a feed from BLAKE NIELSEN, stationed at the elbow. A few possessions later, Mohn crashed the glass for an offensive rebound, leading to a Nieslen assist to Elkinton. 
 
A few minutes later, the Hilltoppers ran the same backdoor cut action from GAVINO RAMOS to Nielsen to Mohn on the other side of the floor for a layup and foul to give St. Edward's a 9-7 lead. Mohn finished his scoring run with a 3-pointer off a feed from Ramos, catching on the move at a sprint toward the top of the key for the 14-9 lead. 
 
Nielsen and Ramos, the conference's first and fifth assists leaders, directed the offense with two assists each over that stretch. 
 
Midway through the first half, the bench sparked another 16-8 run with a JAMISON KAY putback off an ALEU ALEU miss. JAYDEN JOHNSTON followed with a layup and foul for the 3-point play, and Mohn buried another 3-pointer off a CONOR MCMANUS assist. Mohn answered a Kieran Elliott turnaround jumper with a pair of free throws, Aleu drove in for a layup, and Nielsen and Elkinton reentered the game for two jumpers and a 37-21 lead with 4:53 remaining. 
 
West Texas A&M climbed back to within ten on an 11-5 run to close the half, but Ramos, for the second game in a row, ended the first half with two points, drawing a foul with five seconds remaining and draining both free throws for the 44-32 halftime lead. 

Mohn led St. Edward's with 13 points on eight shots at the break and the Hilltoppers assisted on eight of their 15 made field goals. Ramos had 10 points, hitting 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. Elliott led West Texas A&M with 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting. 
 
Both teams exchanged buckets over the first three minutes of the second half like a pair of heavyweight boxers trading blows in the middle of the ring after the initial feeling-out process.
 
After Ramos scored his 15th point of the game on a 3-pointer off a feed from Nielsen to put St. Edward's up 56-45, West Texas A&M took control for the next nine minutes with a 25-12 run led by Ryland Holt and Larry Wise. 
 
The duo combined for 18 points over that stretch, sparked by three Holt 3-pointers and capped by a Noah Pagotto jumper for the 70-68 lead with 7:15 remaining. 
 
Both teams battled back and forth, with Holt and Wise proving to be a devastating 1-2 punch with six points each over the final six minutes. BLAKE NIELSEN hit a clutch 3-pointer and floater down the stretch, and Johnston nailed a critical 3-pointer and was fouled on another, nailing all three free throws. 
 
But Elkinton stood tallest over the final six minutes, both in the box score and the most literal sense, showing nearly the full extent of his game. 
 
Elkinton hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 70 and later answered a West Texas A&M 3-pointer with a quick baseline spin and physical finish, followed by a pick-and-roll layup off a feed from Nielsen to give St. Edward's a 77-76 lead. 
 
After Wise gave West Texas A&M an 87-86 lead on free throws with 39 seconds remaining, Elkinton fought through two Buffalos to follow a Ramos missed layup with a tip-in for the game-winner. 
 
Mohn closed the game with a huge defensive play, blocking Wise at the rim, and West Texas A&M missed the putback. Ramos pulled down the rebound, was fouled, and missed the free throw, but West Texas A&M couldn't get a shot off as time expired. 
 
Elkinton led all five starters in double figures with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Ramos scored 18 with six assists, Johnston had 16 points, Mohn had 15 points and two blocks, and Nielsen set the table with 12 points and eight assists. 
 
St. Edward's improves to 20-9 with a 13-7 record. The Hilltoppers will close the regular season next week with an away and home series against St. Mary's.