Close Finish Favors St. Edward's Despite Career Game from Bullard

Close Finish Favors St. Edward's Despite Career Game from Bullard | https://images.sidearmdev.com/

By Press release submission

Jan 11, 2023

THE RUNDOWN
St. Edward's (12-5, 6-2 LSC) edged out DBU (10-6, 5-3 LSC) on Saturday afternoon in the Burg Center. Ricky Lujan missed a three with less than five seconds left in the game that would have potentially forced overtime.

The first half was largely controlled by the Patriots. Carson Hughes and Isaac Bullard (combined 21 points in the half) led the charge for DBU to go up by as many 13. However, the Hilltoppers found an extra gear, closing the half on a 13-2 run to make it a 1-point game at the break.

The second half was exactly what one would expect out of this rivalry. The Patriots widened the gap to five less than two minutes into the period, and that difference would prove to be the largest for the remainder of the game. Each squad has an answer for the other, such as Austin Garner responding to a Sean Elkinton 3-pointer with one of his own to tie the game at 51.

Down, 72-68, with less than a minute to play, Ta'Jay Dunlap hit a shot from the outside to bring the game within 1. St. Edward's guard Gavino Ramos converted a pair of one-and-one free throws to stretch the lead to three, and after a sideline, catch-and-timeout inbound play from Hughes to Jalen White, junior guard Ricky Lujan put up a three-pointer on DBU's final play that proved to be no good.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Isaac Bullard registered a career-high 15 points.
- The Patriots held Jeff Gary, the Hilltoppers' leading scorer, to seven points.
- Five players from DBU scored in double figures (Isaac Bullard, Ta'Jay Dunlap, Carson Hughes, Cameron Kahn, and Jalen White).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
20 - DBU scored 20 points off 14 turnovers from St. Edward's
25 - The Patriots held the lead for more than 25 minutes of the game.
92 - DBU put together its best performance from behind the free throw line this season, shooting 92% (12-13).

BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE DIFFERENCE MAKER IN SATURDAY'S GAME
"We didn't finish…in the paint. We just needed one more stop…and one more good shot to go in. It's always a battle with [St. Edward's]."

UP NEXT
DBU heads to South Texas for a two-game road trip next week. The Patriots will face Texas A&M–Kingsville on Thursday, January 12 at 7:30 pm and Texas A&M International on Saturday, January 14 at 4:00 pm.