HOBBS, N.M. – The University of St. Thomas men's basketball team beat the University of the Southwest, 87-83, Saturday. It was the second straight road win for the Celts after defeating Our Lady of the Lake two nights before 84-71. The wins marked their sixth and seventh wins in the past eight games.
The Celts improved to 9-3 overall, 2-1 in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Mustangs fell to 3-8, 1-3. UST sits in a five-way logjam for second place in the RRAC.
St. Thomas and Southwest battled through 15 ties and 17 lead changes in a see-saw affair. It was a game with nearly identical numbers. St. Thomas shot 45.8 percent from the field, while Southwest hit 45.6 percent of its field goals. The Celts scored 34 points in the paint, and the Mustangs had 32. UST scored 10 second chance points, and Southwest had 12. The Mustangs hit 10 triples to the Celts' nine. Both teams turned the ball over 17 times, and each had nine steals and four blocks.
The Mustangs opened up their largest lead of the game – an 11-point advantage – with 7:31 to go in the first half. But UST used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 36, following a pair of Sam Flores (SR/El Paso, Texas) free throws at the 3:43 mark. Nathan Thormaehlen (JR/Katy, Texas) canned a triple 41 seconds later to put the Celts ahead, 39-38, but John Paul Garcia's triple on the ensuing possession gave the lead back to the Mustangs.
The game witnessed two more ties the rest of the half, including a three-point play by Quashi "Ayo" Philips with one second left on the clock to send the two teams into the break knotted at 45-45.
St. Thomas led by as many as three on three occasions in the first half. UST shot 14 of 32 from the field in the first half. Southwest was 17 of 36.
The Celts opened up a five-point lead 3:40 into the second half when Thormaehlen sank a pair of free throws. Rontrell Hills' field goal in the paint put the Mustangs on top, 70-64, with 8:54 remaining. But the Celts responded with a seven-point run over the next 1:44 to take a 71-70 lead.
Both teams scrapped through five more ties – the last coming at the 2:08 mark when Orowo Eleyae (SR/Houston, Texas) scored in the paint on a dish from Cameron Gims (FR/Cypress, Texas) to even things up at 80-80. Paris Marquez (SR/Atascocita, Texas) hit two free throws, and Gims added another to give UST a three-point lead. Kennard Robinson (JR/Houston, Texas) sank two more with 35 seconds left to make it a four-point game, and the Celts held off the Mustangs.
Eleyae finished with 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting. Thormaehlen recorded his second double-double in the past three games after scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 boards. Kennard Robinson had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Marquez scored 11 points.
Emmanuel McNeil had 18 points and five rebounds, and Hills finished with 17 points, six boards and five assists for Southwest.
St. Thomas returns to the Jerabeck Activity & Athletic Center 7 p.m. Dec. 28 to host Haskell Indian Nations in the UST Classic.
