St. Thomas men's basketball team will play Huston-Tillotson at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.
The fourth-seeded Celts (20-10) are making their second appearance in the RRAC Tournament in the last three years. In 2017, UST fell to Langston University in the opening round.
The Celts, who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll, won the tournament in 2013 and advanced to the championship game in 2014. In both of those seasons, UST qualified for the NAIA National Tournament.
This season, the Celts split with Huston-Tillotson during the regular season. UST dropped the first meeting at home before winning the road contest. Paris Marquez (SR/Atascocita, Texas) scored a career-high 31 points in the road win.
UST's Kennard Robinson (JR/Houston, Texas) ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game (5.9). He had 20 assists in the two earlier meetings with the Rams this season. He had 23 points in the win at Huston-Tillotson. Orowo Eleyae (SR/Houston, Texas) had 21 points in the win.
Fifth-seeded Huston-Tillotson ranks sixth in the NAIA in scoring offense at 90.2 points per game. Alex Doche ranks 14th in the country in rebounds per game at 8.8. Courtney Julien is averaging 17.6 points per game. Julien had 27 points in the most recent game in Austin, Texas. Christian Wilson scored 24.
This is UST's final trip to the RRAC Tournament as next year the Celts will begin the transition to NCAA Division III.
The tournament runs through Saturday.
