SAN ANTONIO — St. Mary's Men's Basketball is geared for the showdown tonight against Newman, which it leads all-time with a 9-5 record.
One Night Only
This will be the lone game between the Rattlers and Jets this season as St. Mary's will not travel to Wichita, Kan.
Rattler Coaster
The last five results for the Rattlers have been: win, loss, win, loss and win. St. Mary's is currently tied for the No. 3 spot in the Heartland Conference along with Texas-Permian Basin, behind Texas A&M International who holds the No. 1 spot and UA-Fort Smith, who holds the No. 2 spot. With only nine games left in the regular-season, the Rattlers cannot afford to continue visiting peaks and valleys. Last year, the men caught fire down the stretch, winning seven of their final eight games. They'll need to find the same formula to repeat last season's closing feat which saw them advance to the Sweet 16.
Road Warriors
The Rattlers return home after a three game road trip that featured stops at Laredo, Dallas and Oklahoma City. The squad went 2-1, winning the first and last games on the trip, including a triple-overtime victory at No. 1 Texas A&M International. St. Mary's has struggled at times on the road in recent campaigns, but this year they have posted an impressive 5-1 record away from the friendly confines of Bill Greehey Arena.
Home Cookin'
Men's Basketball will play their first home in three weeks on Thursday night. Home has been sweet for the Rattlers as they won their first six games inside Bill Greehey this season en route to a 7-2 home record. The only caveat is that they have lost two of the last three, continuing the up-and-down trend that must be rectified to earn a spot in post-season play.
By Committee
St. Mary's is one of those classic throwback teams comprised of many components opponents have to account for. With different players leading in multiple statistical categories, the Rattlers have no one "go-to-guy," they boast several.
Marvin Whitt (Jr., Birmingham, Ala.) immediately comes to mind as he leads the Rattlers in scoring this season with 14.6 points per game. He is the lone scorer in double figures, followed by
Justin Alexander (Sr., San Antonio),
Isaiah Matthews (Jr., Texas City, Texas) and
Marvin Binney (Jr., Toronto), each a shade above nine points per contest. Swingman
JJ Bolton (Jr., Beaumont, Miss.) is the unlikely leader in the rebounding clubhouse standing at 6-foot-3, averaging 4.2 a game and possessing the only double-double performances for the team this season. The Rattlers are not a poor rebounding team. They average a little more than 37 boards per contests, out-rebounding opponents by more almost seven a game. Whitt and Binney, who have taken over in the backcourt and are better known for their scoring prowess, are the assists leaders on the squad.
Behind Enemy Lines
The Jets will come to San Antonio with a 7-11 record and winners of two straight, claimed over Lubbock Christian and UTPB, both at home. Newman began their season splitting their first six games before losing five straight at one point. A 4-6 record has them in seventh place in Heartland Conference standings. Away from home, Newman is a meek 1-7. Their leading scorers are Marquis Cuyler at 13.1 points per game, Jeremy Espinoza at 12.8 points per game and Elhad Emerllahu at 11.1 points per game. Espinoza anchors the team in rebounding, averaging six a game and Perrytone Smith leads the assists column, posting 3.5 a game. The Jets average a little more than 78 points a contest, shoot 42.8 percent from the field and 33.7 from behind the arc.
'Till We Meet Again
February 9, 2013 was the last time the Rattlers and Jets dueled. The clashed happened in San Antonio with St. Mary's prevailing 59-54 in a tightly contested contest.
Snake Eyes Peeled On...
St. Mary's will have to improve in two areas that helped seal their demise last time they were at home: 3-point shooting and turnovers. In the 57-66 loss to McMurry on Jan. 11, the Rattlers connected on only one-of-13 from three, "good" for 7.7 percent and racked up 17 turnovers. The Rattlers average 17 turnovers a game this season, so they need to keep it to less than that figure, especially at home.
Weekend Plans
The Rattlers continue their homestead on Saturday when they take on Oklahoma Panhandle State at 3 p.m at Bill Greehey Arena.
