FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Rattlers have arrived in Fort Smith, Ark. and are ready for what they hope will be the grand finale against Heartland Conference rival Texas A&M-International.
After two compelling wins over the Dustdevils this season, St. Mary's Men's Basketball will face them first in the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament that will determine its chances of defending its conference crown in the championship game.
Coming in as the No. 3 seed, the Rattlers faceoff with No. 2-seeded TAMIU at 7:30 p.m. Friday at host school and No. 1 seed UA Fort Smith in Fort Smith, Ark.
Earlier this season, the Rattlers defeated the Dustdevils in nothing less than thrilling fashion. The first time these teams saw each other, the
Rattlers pulled out a triple-overtime upset as the visiting team. When the Rattlers faced the Dustdevils in Bill Greehey Arena, they were able
to force two overtime periods and win by nine.
Playing a large part in both of these exciting victories was Rattler guard,
Marvin Binney who was named the Heartland Conference Newcomer of the Year and All-Conference Second Team.
A fast break layup from Binney forced the overtime period in the first of five overtimes the team would play. Clutch free throws from
Ife Eke with no time left sent the Rattlers to a second overtime and a 3-pointer from
Kameron Pearce to a third. In the third and final overtime period, a second jumper from Binney would seal the Rattlers' 87-85 victory over the Dustdevils.
In the regular season finale, the Rattlers were once again able to defeat the Dustdevils in extra time, denying TAMIU of the regular-season championship title.
At the end of regulation, Rattler J.J. Bolton hit a free throw to tie the game, and with a missed jumper from TAMIU's Kevin Jefferson, the
teams went to the first overtime period.
During the first overtime period, the Rattlers led the entire time, but the DustDevils rallied back late to tie the game with five seconds on the clock.
The teams headed to the second and final overtime period of the afternoon as Binney missed a shot with one second to play.
The Rattlers took care of business in the final overtime period, sealing the 74-65 victory over the Dustdevils.
In each of the games, Binney scored 17 and 12 points, respectively, and was able to keep his foul count low in the foul-plagued games.
Looking forward, Binney knows that he must use his experience with TAMIU to his advantage.
"Being a little familiar with them is good," Binney said. "You know what they're going to run. But we can't go into the game thinking that we beat them twice so we're automatically going to beat them again."
The Rattlers' defense played a pivotal role in the outcome of each of the game, holding one of TAMIU's leading scorers Johnel Grey scoreless in the second match-up.
Cumulatively, the Rattlers out-rebounded the Dustdevils, 87-66 across the two games.
On the offensive side though, the Rattlers allowed 49 points off of 39 turnovers in the two games against the Dustdevils.
"I'm going try to not take possessions off; if we take possessions off, we give them opportunities to get back in the game," Binney said. "If we
keep our feet on the gas pedal, we¹ll be able to put them away without double or triple overtimes.
"This is playoff basketball. We have to kick it up a notch and do what we have to do to advance to the finals."
