Box Score
ODESSA, Texas — In an overtime thriller against the Texas-Permian Basin Falcons, St. Mary's Men's Basketball pulled out a 79-71 victory, giving the Rattlers their third Heartland Conference win in four games.
The Rattlers closed out regulation on a 9-0 run over the final 1:30 to force OT, where St. Mary's outscored the Falcons 10-1 over the final 2:40 to win the game.
Leading the efforts for the Rattlers was
Marvin Whitt (Jr., Birmingham, Ala.), who led the team in both points with 23 and rebounds with six. Binney contributed 16 points and led the team with four assists.
Isaiah Matthews (R-Jr., Texas City, Texas) and Alexander chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
During the first half, the Rattlers and Falcons traded off with the leading position, as the game was tied nine times in just the first half. Despite shooting 11 of 25 in the first half, the Rattlers were able to go to halftime leading the Falcons 35-33.
In the second half, the Rattlers and Falcons (8-2, 2-1), who came into the game with a similar record to the Rattlers (10-2, 3-1), continued to battle back and forth for the victory.
Coming back from the break the Rattlers held their advantage, leading by as much as nine at the 15-minute mark.
But the Falcons struck back, going on an impressive 18-point run in a seven-minute span late in the second half to lead by five with just under nine minutes left in regulation.
At the two-minute mark, the Falcons had built their lead up to as much as 10, but the Rattlers rallied back and went on an 9-0 run in the final minutes to force overtime.
Justin Alexander (Jr., San Antonio) hit two clutch free throws with under one minute on the clock to tie the game at 67-67, but a missed shot from
Marvin Binney (Jr., Toronto, Ontario) would send the Rattlers into overtime.
The extra minutes mirrored regulation, as the teams were within points of other through the duration of overtime. The score tied for the final time at the 2:43 mark, when the Rattlers went on a nine-point run to gain the victory over the Falcons.
The Rattlers will return to Bill Greehey Arena on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. for the annual Battle of the Saints against St. Edward's University.
