WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- No. 9 St. Edward's wrested momentum away from Midwestern State in the first half and appeared to be in position to ride Uncle Mo to its third win of the season Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
Only problem was, Luke Hamilton took exception to the notion and buried his hometown Hilltoppers with a flurry of six triples in the second half to pull MSU to a 92-81 win.
 
"I don't ever say anything to our shooters," MSU coach Justin Leslie said. "Their job is to shoot. Inside out, let it fly."
 
The junior forward from Austin scored all but one of his career-high 22 points after intermission going on a personal 13-2 run to turn a six-point St. Edward's advantage into a 65-60 MSU favor on his fourth straight trey with 10:06 to play.
 
The Mustangs never trailed again.
 
"Let's call it like it is," Leslie said. "This is a Lone Star game against a nationally-ranked team. A team who absolutely embarrassed us the last time we played. We needed to be prepared to play well and give it everything we had."
 
Midwestern State landed the first salvo jumping out to a 16-point advantage in the first half, but the Hilltoppers closed the half on a 20-3 run to take a 43-41 lead into the break.
 
"It was an opportunity to grow. It was easy for us a little bit in the first half," Leslie said. "What does a good program do? They adjust and change the game on us. They come back and take the lead."
 
St. Edward's battled back despite experiencing deep foul trouble by seniors B.J. Maxwell and Jake Krafka in the first half.
 
Junior transfer Daniel Venzant picked up the scoring slack by pouring 24 points and dishing out nine assists, but Maxwell (17 points) and Krafka (10 points) still managed to score in double figures.
 
The Hilltoppers led by as many as six points through the first eight minutes of the second half before Hamilton erupted to push the Mustangs over the top.
 
"We made enough plays when it counted. The kept competing," Leslie said. "The togetherness on the bench and in the locker room is fantastic. That's who we are. That contagious, positive energy that we're going to keep feeding. If we can keep building that chemistry, it's going to put us in a good place."
 
The win snapped a 15-game skid for the Mustangs against opposition ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Top 25. It was first win since MSU knocked off No. 11-ranked West Texas A&M -- 84-78 -- on Jan. 5, 2017 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
Midwestern State is 5-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 season. That squad sprinted out to a 13-0 start.
 
Freshman guard Rommell Williams chipped in a season-high 21 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting with two 3-pointer, while junior Derrick Ogechi buried four 3-pointers to finish with 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
Midwestern State connected on 15 3-pointers for the third time since the start of last season and enjoyed a double-digit rebound margin for the fourth time in five games this season.
 
Midwestern State and St. Edward's square off again Sunday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.