AUSTIN, Texas – GAVINO RAMOS took over in the second half, and the St. Edward's men's basketball team followed his lead, erupting for 57 points after the break to defeat UT Tyler and remain in the Lone Star Conference Tournament hunt. 
 
Ramos and JAMISON KAY scored 22 and 21 points, recording five assists each, and St. Edward's forced 18 turnovers with nine steals to avenge an earlier loss to the Patriots this season. 
 
Kay entered the game, having reached double figures in four consecutive games. He stepped up without an injured LEWIS ROWE, increasing his playmaking and defensive responsibilities. The junior forward carried the Hilltopper offense in the first half with 18 points, utilizing his ability to make plays on the move, using a soft shooting touch off the glass, attacking defenses in rotation, and hitting two 3-pointers to shoot 7-for-9 from the field.
 
Ramos hit a 3-pointer on his first shot of the afternoon but hit only 2-for-7 in the first half. St. Edward's mirrored its lead point guard, shooting 5-for-11 from beyond the 3-point line but only 6-for-18 inside. The number of driving layups that rimmed out and short fip shots left unconverted were lost in those percentages, with production belying the process. 
 
UT Tyler fared only marginally better, getting a combined 18 points from Mareng Gatkuouth, with both shooting 3-for-6. Although the Patriots committed one more turnover than the Hilltoppers, UT Tyler outscored St. Edward's 5-2 in points off turnovers and 7-0 in fast-break points to take a 30-29 lead at the break. 
 
Ramos opened the second half with a pull-up elbow jumper against drop coverage after Rowe set a wide screen to free his point guard. After Kay forced Jadin Penigar into a travel after cutting off his baseline drive, Ramos ran another pick-and-roll with Rowe, freezing Rowe's defender with an in-and-out dribble and slithering through the defense for a reverse layup. Then, Ramos found CONOR MCMANUS for a deep 3-pointer to go up 36-30. 
 
The Patriots weathered that first scoring run, led by a combined 15 points from Gatkouth and Hewlett. UT Tyler hit seven of their subsequent 12 attempts, including two 3-pointers, to stay within 50-48. 
 
St. Edward's second-unit guards, LUKE KISER and LATIEK BRISCOE helped key a 16-5 run over the next three minutes. Briscoe opened the run with a pair of free throws, then Kiser found SAM MCKINNEY for a 3-pointer. Gatkouth interrupted the run with a driving layup, but Rowe got inside for a layup and foul for the 3-point play. Kiser answered a Phipps dunk with a driving layup, Rowe hit 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, and Kiser hit a 3-pointer to go up 64-53. 
 
MASON COURTNEY ripped Dontrell Hewlett and threw the hit-ahead pass to Kiser, who missed the layup through contact in the air, with Kay following for the putback. Kiser left the game after the collision, and Ramos's takeover began. 
 
Ramos scored 11 consecutive St. Edward's points, hitting three straight 3-pointers, with two coming off Rowe and Kay's offensive rebounds and assists. He finished the scoring blitz with a driving layup after Akok Machar tried to jump a passing lane, and Ramos made the catch and quick spin for the free path to the rim. 
 
A few possessions later, Ramos slipped a UT Tyler hedge with a double-crossover and found McKinney cutting baseline for the layup to extend the lead to 80-61 with under two minutes remaining. 
 
Ramos scored 17 of his 22 points after the break, shooting 7-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-from deep. McManus hit 3-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line, and St. Edward's shot 62.5 percent from the field, including 11-for-17 from deep (64.7 percent) in the second half. 
 
St. Edward's improves to 15-10 with an 8-7 conference record after the win, sitting a half-game behind Angelo State for eighth in the LSC standings but owning the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Hilltoppers will host Cameron and Oklahoma Christian next week.