Box Score
KINGSVILLE, Texas— In a slow-starting matchup against the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, the St. Mary's Rattlers narrowly pulled out a victory 52-51.
In the last 20 seconds, the Rattlers'
Marvin Whitt (Jr., Birmingham, Ala.) missed a jump shot, which the Javelinas then rebounded and took down the floor.
With 16 seconds to play and the score set at 52-51 in the Rattlers' favor, the Javelinas let the clock run down and proceeded to take a shot with one second on the clock but missed, handing the Rattlers' (7-1) their seventh victory in a row.
The Javelinas, now 3-7 on the season, seemed to come out with a vengeance in the first half, as the Rattlers had defeated them earlier in the season at home 80-65.
Throughout the first half, the Rattlers had trouble gaining any momentum, as they had nine turnovers that allowed for 14 of the Javelinas' first-half points and only eight points in the paint. The Rattlers went to halftime trailing 30-21.
Coming back from the break, the Rattlers fired back, going on a 20-2 run in the first nine minutes of the second half.
The Javelinas started closing the gap once again around the three-minute mark and brought it to as close as one point in the final minutes of the game, until a missed shot sealed the Rattlers' victory.
Whitt led the Rattlers' efforts with a team-high 14 points and two steals.
Marvin Binney (Jr., Toronto, Ontario), in his first game back from injury, contributed eight points and led the team with five assists.
Isaiah Matthews (R-Jr., Texas City, Texas),
JJ Bolton (Jr., Beaumont, Miss.),
Christian Bower (Sr., Chandler, Ariz.) and
Justin Alexander (Jr., San Antonio) each chipped in six points apiece.
Alexander contributed a team-high seven boards, followed by Binney and Whitt with four.
The Rattlers will open conference play against rivals Arkansas-Fort Smith Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena.
