CANYON, Texas – GAVINO RAMOS led four Hilltoppers in double figures, and St. Edward's used two 11-0 scoring runs to put some distance between itself and West Texas A&M for an 84-71 victory over the Buffaloes.
St. Edward's men's basketball earned its first victory in Canyon, Texas, its most significant margin of victory against West Texas A&M, and head coach Andre Cook's 400th career head coaching win between his time at St. Edward's University and Hudson Valley Community College.
The victory also brought the Hilltoppers' magic number down to one win needed to secure a spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, with two games left against St. Mary's.
Ramos poured in 18 points on a brutally efficient 5-for-8 shooting, connecting on 1-for-2 from deep and draining all seven free throw attempts. The Hilltoppers followed his lead, shooting 24-for-45 (53.3 percent) and 6-for-11 from deep.
The lead changed five times with eight ties throughout the first half. Narit Chotikavanic carried West Texas A&M early with 13 points, connecting on three 3-pointers. Ahamed Mohammed added 10 points, and the Buffaloes hit 7-for-16 from deep to outscore St. Edward's 21-6 from the 3-point line in the first half.
CONOR MCMANUS led St. Edward's with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, but the rest of the starting lineup combined to shoot 4-for-13. The bench trio of
LATIEK BRISCOE,
WONDER KAHOZI, and
LUKE KISER stepped up to stabilize the Hilltopper offense, giving St. Edward's a 12-3 advantage in bench scoring with four each, highlighted by a feed from Briscoe to Kahozi for the dunk.
St. Edward's offset the first-half 3-point disparity with 10 made free throws in 13 attempts, going on an 11-0 run late to go into the half tied at 34.
West Texas A&M opened the second half on a 7-0 scoring run, going up 11 with 15:05 remaining. Chotikavanic continued to lead the West Texas A&M offense but paid a far heavier toll to carry it, hitting just 4-for-12 from the field, including 1-for-8 from the 3-point line for 11 second-half points.
St. Edward's found its footing on the defensive end, limiting West Texas A&M to 11-for-31 shooting (35.5 percent) in the second half. Both teams increased their intensity, combining for 42 free-throw attempts, of which St. Edward's made 20 to West Texas A&M's 12.
JAMISON KAY took over with 13 points on five shots, hitting a 3-pointer and six free throws while pulling down five rebounds. Ramos continued to torch the Buffaloes, scoring 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting after the break, draining his lone 3-point attempt, and hitting all three free throws. While Ramos dissected the Buffaloes with scalpel-like precision, Rowe overpowered West Texas A&M like a sledgehammer, getting to the free-throw line for eight attempts, hitting seven, and shooting 2-for-3 inside for 11 points.
Ramos finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Kay added a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Rowe scored 14 points, hitting 8-for-11 from the free-throw line, and dished out a team-high four assists. McManus finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
St. Edward's improves to 18-11 with an 11-8 conference record. The Hilltoppers will close the regular season with a home game against St. Mary's on Wednesday, then a road game against the Rattlers on Saturday.
