Box Score LAREDO, Texas – GAVINO RAMOS blocked Isaiah Somers' corner 3-point attempt in the closing seconds of overtime to preserve a St. Edward's men's basketball's 70-65 victory over the Texas A&M International Dustdevils.
JAMISON KAY scored a career-high 26 points, stepping up in the absence of leading scorer
LEWIS ROWE, who left the game early with an injury.
St. Edward's struggled offensively without its go-to scorer inside, scoring only 22 points in the first half. Texas A&M International took advantage with a barrage of 3-pointers, getting two each from Estabeban Roacho and Emaniel Alexandre and a fifth 3-pointer from Elijah Bailey to outscore the Hilltoppers 15-3 from beyond the 3-point line.
Kay kept the Hilltoppers afloat with eight first-half points, and
SAM MCKINNEY provided energy off the bench with a pair of buckets to keep the Hilltoppers close at 30-22.
St. Edward's got a little more shooting in the second half, getting 3-pointers from Ramos,
MASON COURTNEY, and
CONOR MCMANUS. After going scoreless in the first half, Ramos scored 10 in the second. Courtney delivered a critical pull-up baseline jumper to make a two-possession game one at 57-55 with under two minutes remaining in regulation.
Kay continued to lead St. Edward's with 12 second-half points, and the Hilltoppers made several big defensive stops down the stretch to complete the comeback.
Freshman
WONDER KAHOZI followed with a clutch defensive possession, helping on dribble penetration at the nail and then rotating out to block Bailey's 3-point attempt to trigger a Ramos fastbreak layup to tie the game.
Texas A&M International got two final looks in regulation, but Kay altered one 3-point attempt, and he and Kahozi snuffed out another one at the rim to force overtime.
Kay scored the first overtime points after Ramos recovered a missed McManus 3-pointer and found Kay inside for the finish on a difficult, contested basket off a jump stop. Courtney followed with a pair of free throws.
The Dustdevils followed with a 4-point play on a corner 3-pointer and foul. St. Edward's responded by running an inverted pick-and-pop between Kay and Ramos, with Ramos popping out for the 3-pointer. St. Edward's turned to it again on its next two possessions, and Kay turned the corner twice for layups to go up 68-65.
Texas A&M International turned to a series of dribble handoffs in the closing seconds until Somers sprang loose in the corner, but Ramos rotated from the low block in time to block the shot, and Courtney sealed the game with a pair of free throws.
St. Edward's improves to 14-9 with an 8-6 conference record after the win. The Hilltoppers will return home to host DBU and UT Tyler on Thursday and Saturday next week.
