HOUSTON, Texas – Four different Celts scored in double figures as the University of St. Thomas men's basketball team cruised past Paul Quinn College Friday night, 96-73.
Sam Flores (SR/El Paso, Texas) and Paul Taulton (JR/Pearland, Texas) both scored 15 points, Paris Marquez (SR/Atascocita, Texas) had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Orowo Eleyae (SR/Houston, Texas) 11 points and seven rebounds as UST improved to 19-10 overall, 10-7 in the Red River Athletic Conference.
Paul Quinn (4-23, 1-15) never led in the game – one in which the Celts built a 29-point lead 6:27 into the second half.
UST shot 51.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. Paul Quinn shot 39.2 percent from the floor, and went 2 of 13 from long distance.
The Celts opened up a 14-4 lead on a triple by Marquez. Taulton scored at the 5:51 mark to keep the Celts up 10 before the Tigers cut it to five on a tip-in by Trevion Robinson. Flores hit a three, and Eleyae sank three free throws in the last 1:38 as St. Thomas took a 35-23 lead into the break.
Both teams had 11 field goals and 11 turnovers in the first half. The Celts went 10-for-12 from the free throw line. The Tigers did not attempt a free throw in the half.
Kennard Robinson (JR/Houston, Texas) had a steal and layup, and Eleyae scored on a follow-up a little over a minute into the second half as the Celts crept up 19. UST outscored Paul Quinn, 14-2, to open the second half. Peter Ellwanger (SR/Magnolia, Texas) buried a corner three as the Celts climbed ahead, 61-36.
Freddie Ricks (FR/Cypress, Texas) hit a triple at the 9:49 mark as UST kept its lead at 25. Keaton Shaw (JR/Mt. Belvieu, Texas) knocked down a jumper with 6:21 to go to make it a 28-point game. Michael Alfred (JR/Baton Rogue, Louisiana)'s triple with 2:36 to go extended the lead to 29.
Ellwanger finished with eight points, six boards and four assists. Ricks had seven points, and Donald Williams (SO/The Woodlands, Texas) had six points, including an emphatic flush after a steal to put the game away.
The Celts will host Texas College at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on Senior Night.
