TYLER, Texas – St. Edward's men's basketball and UT Tyler went back and forth in a chaotic finish, but the Hilltoppers committed a critical turnover in the closing seconds of a 75-72 loss to the Patriots.
LEWIS ROWE led four Hilltoppers in double figures with 18 points, and
GAVINO RAMOS added 14 and four assists. However, Mareng Gatkuoth countered with seven 3-pointers, scoring 29 points on 16 shots, including the final go-ahead 3-pointer.
The first half went back and forth, with four lead changes and six ties.
JAMISON KAY led the Hilltoppers with nine points in the first half on 3-for-4 shooting, hitting a 3-pointer and adding a pair of free throws. Ramos struggled from the field but got to the free throw line for six points, and
LUCA BAREI added five off the bench.
St. Edward's struggled from deep, hitting 3-for-11 in the half, and finished with more turnovers (nine) than assists (seven). Gatkouth led all scorers with 13 points, hitting three of his team's four 3-pointers for a 35-35 tie at the break.
MASON COURTNEY opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to give the Hilltoppers a lead, which hovered around three points on the strength of Rowe's work in the paint, scoring 14 second-half points on 6-for-8 shooting.
UT Tyler hit back-to-back 3-pointers and a tip-in layup to take the 65-64 lead with just under four minutes remaining. Then, Ramos and Gatkouth traded 3-pointers, and Hewlett hit a floater for a three-point lead. Ramos's 3-pointer with 41 seconds left tied the game, but Gatkuouth responded with his own from the corner.
Ramos hit Rowe with a pass over the top for a layup to pull to within one with 17 seconds remaining, and
JAMISON KAY stole the ball on the ensuing inbounds, but Ramos's pass attempt over the top to Rowe was intercepted. Gatkuouth made both free throws and
JAMISON KAY's long inbounds pass was stolen when time expired.
St. Edward's drops to 10-6 with a 3-3 conference record. The Hilltoppers will remain on the road and play No. 8-ranked Dallas Baptist on Saturday.
