SAN ANTONIO – St. Edward's men's basketball fell on the wrong side of a down-to-the-wire game when its comeback fell short as its three-quarter court heave went wide in an 82-80 loss to St. Mary's. 
 
SEAN ELKINTON led five Hilltoppers in double figures with 18 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and three assists, but St. Edward's couldn't overcome an ice-cold start. 
 
The Hilltoppers missed their first four shots and fell behind 10-0, going over two minutes before JAYDEN JOHNSTON put St. Edward's on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer off a feed from GAVINO RAMOS. The Hilltoppers created several open looks against the St. Mary's zone but couldn't convert from deep, shooting 1-for-6 in the first eight minutes and falling behind 23-3. 
 
Tyler Caron, on the other hand, couldn't miss. St. Mary's forward hit all six of his 3-point attempts in the first half, with each shot seemingly more daring than the last, with two taken from the Rattler logo on his way to 23 first-half points. 
 
The bench came in and provided a lift, getting a 3-pointer from CONOR MCMANUS, a pair of JAMISON KAY layups, a Kay pull-up jumper, and then three assists from Kay to BENNETT MOHN for three 3-pointers to bring St. Edward's back to within 10 at 35-25 with 4:35 remaining in the first half. 
 
Mohn kept the Hilltoppers afloat with 12 first-half points, hitting 4-for-6 from deep. Johnston added eight points with two 3-pointers, and Kay had six points, three assists, and two blocks to bring St. Edward's to within 44-36 at the break. 
 
After struggling in the first half, Elkinton and Ramos came to life in the second. Elkinton scored 16 second-half points, combining quick footwork on spin moves with powerful finishes to shoot 6-for-10 from the field in the second half and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Ramos added 11 points and two assists on eight shots.
 
Franklin Agu kept St. Edward's at bay, crashing the glass for three offensive rebounds and five free-throw attempts, scoring 11 points in the second half on 4-for-5 shooting, and Jalon Johnson answered every St. Edward's run with a dynamic drive or pull-up jumper for 11 points on eight shots down the stretch.
 
St. Edward's had several chances to tie the game in the closing minute but missed two 3-pointers and had a layup blocked until BLAKE NIELSEN pulled the team to within one at 81-80 on an offensive rebound and layup. Johnson missed the second free throw, and Johnston grabbed the rebound with 3.4 seconds remaining, heaving a shot from a step in front of the opposite 3-point line and missing wide. 
 
St. Mary's shot 9-for-18 from beyond the 3-point line and outscored St. Edward's 32-26 in the paint, 22-16 in second-chance points, and 21-10 in fast break points. 
 
Mohn finished with 15 points, Nielsen scored 10 with seven assists and five rebounds, Ramos had 11 points and four assists, and Johnston scored 14 points with seven rebounds and four steals. 
 
St. Edward's drops to 20-10 with a 13-8 conference record. The Hilltoppers will close the regular season on Thursday at home against St. Mary's.