AUSTIN, Texas — JAMISON KAY shuffled slowly to the free-throw line, drawing a slow breath. His legs had carried him through three games in six days, through overtime two nights earlier, and through nearly every critical possession this week. When he released the ball, it came up short, striking the front rim. Fatigue had a voice, and it spoke clearly in that moment.

But so did resilience.

Seconds later, Kay returned to the line with the game still hanging in the balance. This time, he lifted the shot cleanly. Then the next. Both free throws dropped through the net with four seconds remaining, sealing a 100-95 victory over UT Permian Basin on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Athletic Center and completing a perfect three-game week for the Hilltoppers.

Before tipoff, St. Edward's honored seniors MASON COURTNEY, BLAKE NIELSEN, JAMISON KAY, and graduate assistant Frank Rainville, recognizing careers that helped build one of the program's most consistent eras of success.
The ceremony carried emotion, but the game quickly demanded urgency. UT Permian Basin seized early momentum behind Sharrod Taylor's aggressive scoring and shot-making, building a 19-point first-half lead and forcing the Hilltoppers into immediate response.

The shift didn't come all at once. It arrived in fragments — a defensive rebound, an extra pass, a defensive stand — and then it accelerated when ROBERT CONRAD entered the game.

Conrad didn't just stabilize the Hilltoppers. He changed their trajectory.

He attacked gaps without hesitation, scoring at the rim, stepping confidently into open threes, and disrupting UT Permian Basin's offensive rhythm on the other end. His defining sequence came in the closing seconds of the first half, when he drove through traffic for a layup, then immediately stole the ensuing inbounds pass and finished again at the rim. In a matter of seconds, he cut a once-daunting deficit to two points and reset the emotional balance of the game.

Conrad matched his career high in the first half alone, scoring 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting in under 13 minutes, providing a surge of energy that rippled through every possession that followed.

While Conrad shifted momentum, Nielsen controlled everything else. The senior guard orchestrated the offense with patience and clarity, finishing with 14 points and 11 assists while guiding St. Edward's through its most difficult stretches. Each pass reflected recognition — of angles, timing, and opportunity — and by the end of the afternoon, Nielsen had moved into second place in program history with 436 career assists, a milestone defined less by numbers than by years of steady leadership.

Kay carried the emotional and physical weight of the moment. He finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, stretching the defense with four three-pointers while anchoring the interior on both ends. His performance capped a demanding week in which he averaged 23.3 points, eight rebounds, and 3.7 assists while playing 37 minutes per game, absorbing the physical toll required to close out three victories in six days.

The Hilltoppers finally seized control midway through the second half, fueled by Conrad's continued aggression, freshman point guard RYDER BRADLEY's unwavering confidence, Nielsen's orchestration, and Kay's steady scoring presence. They built a lead that reached 14 points, but UT Permian Basin refused to relent, trimming the margin to three in the closing seconds and forcing St. Edward's to respond one final time.

That final response belonged to Kay.

His first free throws revealed exhaustion. His last revealed resolve.

St. Edward's shot with precision even as fatigue threatened to erode execution. The Hilltoppers absorbed every run, every moment of doubt, and every physical demand placed on them during one of the most taxing weeks of the season.

Senior Day didn't offer an easy ending. It offered a meaningful one.

Exhausted but unbroken, the Hilltoppers walked off their home floor with three wins in six days, a perfect week behind them, and four seniors who had carried the program forward walking out together — victorious one last time inside the Recreation and Athletics Center.