AUSTIN, Texas — No. 18 St. Edward's battled wire-to-wire in a rematch with DBU, but the No. 25-ranked Patriots closed the final four minutes with an extended run to topple the Hilltoppers 75-68 in the RAC on Saturday. 
 
Dallas Baptist set the tone early, crashing the offensive glass and forcing three turnovers in the first three minutes to open a 10-3 lead. 
 
St. Edward's turned to ROBERT CONRAD and SAM MCKINNEY off the bench and steadied themselves. The larger frontcourt of McKinney and Kay stabilized the Hilltoppers' defensive rebounding, allowing the Hilltoppers to get in transition, avoid the Patriot press, and free guards with physical screens on the other end.
 
Conrad's speed off the bounce served as a pressure release against the press and generated paint touches attacking closeouts in rotation. 
 
St. Edward's reeled off a 19-9 run to overtake DBU, taking a 22-19 lead on four unanswered points from JAMISON KAY. Nielsen started the run with a 3-pointer off a dribble handoff from Kay. Nielsen shook off some early turnovers and got to the rim, scoring one layup and missing another, followed by a putback from MASON COURTNEY. Scoring went back and forth with the lead changing four times.
 
RYDER BRADLEY and Nielsen put pressure on the defense, with Bradley catching passes on the go to step into pockets of space for short jumpers, and SAM MCKINNEY got free for a dunk off a feed from CONOR MCMANUS. 
 
The Hilltoppers went up as much as five with six minutes remaining in the half, but DBU closed the half on a 14-8 run, loosening the Hilltopper defense with a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch to take a 37-36 lead into the break. 
 
Nielsen led St. Edward's with nine points and five rebounds, and Bradley and Conrad added six. The Hilltoppers outscored the Patriots 24-22 in the paint, but DBU countered with a 16-11 edge in points off turnovers, and 9-4 in second-chance points. 
 
Bradley opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper for a 41-37 lead, and Kay joined him with 13 second-half points as the duo combined for 23, but DBU continued to press its advantage in the margins, winning on the glass with a slight edge at the free-throw line.
 
The lead changed hands six times in the half, with DBU's Drew Calderon getting free for three 3-pointers, before DBU reeled off a 10-0 run to take a nine-point lead with two minutes remaining. Guard Trevor Frank worked off crushing Jackson McCabe screens, finding space to pull up near the elbow for six points over that run to put the game away. 
 
Kay led the Hilltoppers with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists, and Bradley added 16 on 7-for-12 shooting with five rebounds and four assists. Nielsen scored 13 with five rebounds and four assists. The Hilltoppers shot just 6-for-22 from deep and were outscored 16-6 in second-chance points. 
St. Edward's (16–4, 5–4 LSC) will look to bounce back as Lone Star Conference play continues next week.