AUSTIN, Texas – St. Thomas men's basketball team won its 15th game of the season Saturday, beating host Huston-Tillotson University, 83-82, in a thriller.

The Celts (15-7, 6-4 Red River Athletic Conference) and Rams (8-9, 6-4) are tied for fourth in the league standings. Wiley and LSU-Shreveport sit a half-game ahead of them with 7-4 league records.

St. Thomas, which is receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll, evened the season series after Huston-Tillotson won the first meeting in Houston.

UST shot 30 of 59 from the field, while Huston-Tillotson went 27 of 76. The Celts survived a 15 of 23 performance from the free throw line – picking up its two most critical free throws in the closing seconds. The Rams were 20 of 23 from the stripe.

UST trailed 42-38 at halftime, but battled back and forth with the Rams in the second half to gain control. The Celts led by one with 19 seconds to go before Tillotson scored to take a one-point lead. But a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining lifted St. Thomas to the win.

Paris Marquez (SR/Atascocita, Texas) scored a career-high 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting. He was 6 of 9 from the three-point line, and had five rebounds. Kennard Robinson (JR/Houston, Texas) scored a season-high 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He also had seven assists and five rebounds. Orowo Eleyae (SR/Houston, Texas) had 21 points and eight rebounds, and shot 9 of 12 from the field.

Courtney Julien scored 27 points, and Christian Wilson added 24 for the Rams.

The Celts return home 7:30 p.m. Thursday when they host Our Lady of the Lake.