Box Score SAN ANTONIO— In an emotional game to conclude the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic, the Rattlers outlasted the Emporia State University Hornets, 70-68, thanks to a last-second shot from
Marvin Whitt.
Taking a pass from
Christian Bower in the far corner with 4.5 seconds left, Whitt weaved toward the front-center of the lane and drained a leaning jumper from about 13 feet with .3 seconds left to spur the Rattlers to victory at Bill Greehey Arena on Saturday.
"We just tried to stay focused and stay together as brothers," said Whitt, who had a game-high 22 points. "There's no 'I' in team and we're all starting to believe in that. We're all starting to believe in one another."
Within the first eight minutes of the game, the Rattlers had almost as many fouls (nine) as they had points (10) on the board, making it difficult to establish any kind of momentum as they fell by as many as 13 points.
"It was a hard game for there to be any rhythm to," head coach
Jim Zeleznak said. "At halftime, we had seven guys with two fouls. I think one of the big keys of the game was when we got down by 13 in the first half, we kept on grinding; we got a couple of steals and had a few really good defensive possessions."
The 13-point deficit wasn't enough to keep the Rattlers (6-1) from a comeback.
With about 10 minutes left to play in the first half,
Bryce Smith (R-So., Corpus Christi, Texas) checked into the game and helped to close the gap by hitting a 3-pointer and sinking two free-throws against Emporia State (6-3).
"I thought his contribution off the bench was huge," Zeleznak said. "He had five points and four rebounds, but they came at a critical time when the game was going against us."
With three minutes on the clock in the first half, the Rattlers made their 11-point run to end the half down only 30-32.
Coming back from the break, the Rattlers continued to battle back and forth with the Hornets.
Throughout the course of the second half, the score was tied 12 times and the lead changed nine times.
The clock began to wind down and the Rattlers led 66-63 after two clutch free throws from Whitt (Jr., Birmingham, Ala.).
The Hornets hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, followed by a layup from
Isaiah Matthews (R-Jr., Texas City, Texas) to put the Rattlers ahead by two once again. Another shot from the Hornets tied the game for the last time with 17 seconds on the clock.
The Rattlers had the final possession of the game and as they made their way down the court, the ball found its way to the hands of Whitt, who hit the game-winning jumper with .3 seconds on the clock.
"It was a good team win," Whitt said.
Whitt contributed a game-high 22 points and six rebounds, followed by Matthews who scored 14 points to go along with four boards.
Joe Monroe (R-Jr., San Antonio) and
Justin Alexander (Jr., San Antonio) also chipped in six boards apiece.
Despite his impressive stat line, the first thing Whitt did when he sat down for an interview was check to see how many turnovers he had.
"To be honest, I wouldn't say this is the weekend of a lifetime for me," said Whitt of his phenomenal performance over the weekend, which included a 25-point performance in which he went 14 for 14 at the free-throw line against Central Missouri. "I'm just used to playing good ball and competing at a high level."
Said Zeleznak of Whitt's contributions over the weekend: "The thing that strikes me the most (about Marvin) right now is not just his statistical production, but his tenacity on the defensive end of the court. We're seeing that complete game from him; he's taking a huge step in the right direction as far as his development in our basketball program and what we're trying to do."
Zeleznak is ready to move forward and keep improving with this team packed with new faces.
"We can certainly draw a lot of positives from this weekend," said Zeleznak. "These were two really good wins over quality teams. We just have to keep growing to trying to get better. I really liked the way our guys showed toughness and the way our bench is starting to interact in the game. There are still a lot of things to work on, but other than just the two W's, the weekend was a huge step in the right direction."
The Rattlers will face Texas A&M-Kingsville on the road Saturday, Dec. 7 and will be back at Greehey Arena Thursday, Dec. 19 against Heartland Conference rivals Arkansas-Fort Smith.
