Antonio Morano Photography

Box Score

St. Mary's (Tex.) STMU 12-17

St. Edward's SEU 26-3

St. Mary's (Tex.) STMU

12-17

Final

Mar. 07, 2019

St. Edward's SEU

26-3

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
St. Mary's (Tex.) STMU	33	45	78
St. Edward's SEU	47	40	87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/7/2019 11:36:00 PM | RattlerAthletics.com

Comeback rally falls just short for Men's basketball in Heartland Tourney

By Heather Kennedy | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

TULSA, Okla. – The St. Mary's men's basketball team mounted a furious 12-1 rally over a 2:53 span late in the second half to cut the deficit to seven points, but it was a little too late as the top-seeded and ninth-ranked St. Edward's Hilltoppers hung on to win 87-78 in the Heartland Conference Tournament Quarterfinals in the Union Multipurpose Activity Center.

The Rattlers end their season with a 12-17 mark, while St. Edward's improves to 26-3 and advances to the semifinals to face the winner of Newman vs Rogers State.

Senior guard Skyler Brooks (Seguin, Texas) topped the 20-point milestone for the fourth time this season with 21-points, while Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year Caleb Jordan (Midlothian, Texas) scored 20 points, hitting the plateau for the sixth time this year. Senior Dimitri Peterson (San Antonio) came off the bench to lead the team with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, while three different Rattlers each had a blocked shot.

HC Newcomer of the Year Ashton Spears led the Hilltoppers with 23 points, while Dorian Lopez scored 16, Corey Shervill had 13 and Lucas Doria had 13 points and 10 rebounds. August Haas had a game-high 10 assists, while Spears led with four steals and three different players blocked a shot.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The freshmen guard duo scored the first five points of the game for the Rattlers and Timmy Benavides (San Antonio) hit a triple, followed by a Jordan layup off a steal for the quick 5-0 lead. The teams traded layups twice and after another layup by St. Edward's, Brooks hit his first of four three-pointers for the 12-6 tally. Senior Petar Radojicic (Ljubovija, Serbia) continued with a three-pointer to stretch the lead to nine, 15-6 with 16:35 on the clock. A 6-0 run by the Hilltoppers cut the lead to three, but Brooks hit another triple to push the lead to six, 18-12 at 14:01. After Peterson scored via the layup, SEU scored eight straight to tie the game for the first time at 20-20 with 11:08 to play. Jordan hit a jumper to stop the streak, but the 'Toppers took their first lead with a three-pointer for the 23-22 advantage. With SEU up 26-22, Benavides hit his second triple, but SEU answered. Jordan cashed in on a jumper and the Hilltoppers sank a pair of free throws to keep it a four-point game, 31-27. The teams again traded baskets when SEU hit another triple. Brooks connected on a jumper to make the score 36-31 and the Hilltoppers scored seven unanswered for the 43-31 spread. Brooks made another layup and SEU scored the final four of the half for the 47-33 score.

Brooks scored on a layup to begin the second half and the teams then exchanged three-pointers. Jordan nailed a jumper in the paint but the Hilltoppers answered with a dunk off a steal for the 52-40 tally. Jordan made a three-pointer and SEU hit one free throw. A Curtlon Wesley (Houston, Texas) layup brought the Rattlers within eight, 53-45 with 15:25 to play, but SEU used a mini 5-0 run to push it back out to double digits. The teams traded layups and Jordan nailed another triple for the 60-50 score. After five straight for the Hilltoppers, Peterson sank both of his free throw attempts, but SEU scored nine straight to take a 74-52 lead with 9:57 remaining. Junior Lamont Traylor (Las Vegas, Nev.) stopped the streak with a jumper and after two free throws by SEU, he hit another. The teams traded shots and SEU added one free throw for the 79-58 score with 6:42 remaining. Brooks made a layup and a three-pointer before SEU scored a layup. Brooks made one free throw attempt to make the scoreboard read 81-64. Freshman Dylan Isenhower (Abilene, Texas) scored on a putback and after a Hilltopper three-pointer is when the 12-1 run happened for the Rattlers. Five different players scored for the Blue & Gold during the streak. With 13 seconds remaining, SEU iced the game with a pair of free throws for the 87-78 final.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES

Freshman Caleb Jordan scored in double figures in the last 17 games of the year, including six games of 20 points or more. Jordan also had at least one rebound in all 17 of those games.
Senior Skyler Brooks topped the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in 2018-19, scoring 21 in the quarterfinals. Four different players scored 20 or more in a game this season (Brooks, Markques Houston, Caleb Jordan, Petar Radojicic).
Senior Dimitri Peterson ends his career with 544 points, 536 rebounds, 101 assists, 66 blocked shots and 65 steals.
Senior Petar Radojicic ends his time in the Blue & Gold with 687 points, 296 rebounds, 50 assists, 15 blocks and 13 steals.
Brooks finishes his career with 906 points, 430 rebounds, 116 assists, 47 blocked shots and 43 steals.

TEAM NOTES

The 11 three-pointers made is the second-highest total of the season, trailing only the 12 triples made against both Talladega and Southeastern Oklahoma.
The .571 shooting percentage from the field is also the second-highest mark of the season, trailing only the .581 the team shot at Rogers State on Feb. 21. The .550 from beyond the arc also marks the second-best percentage of the season, behind only the .556 the team shot against Lubbock Christian on Jan. 12.
The Rattlers out-rebounded the last five opponents of the season and 11 of the final 12. The team ended the year with a +7.9 rebound margin, getting 37.7 rebounds per contest.

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