Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

St. Mary's University Athletics

Official Athletics Site of St. Mary's University

Scoreboard

Marvin Whitt
Rebecca George
Marvin Whitt (20) led with 23 points against the Lions.
66
UA Fort Smith UAFS 13-9, 9-5 HC
72
Winner St. Mary's (TX) STMU 13-8, 10-4 HC
UA Fort Smith UAFS
13-9, 9-5 HC
66
Final
72
St. Mary's (TX) STMU
13-8, 10-4 HC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UA Fort Smith UAFS 26 40 66
St. Mary's (TX) STMU 33 39 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | RattlerAthletics.com

Men's hoops notch must-win over UA Fort Smith

By Kaeleen Zeleznak | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

SAN ANTONIO— St. Mary's Men's Basketball showed its continued dominance in the Heartland conference Saturday afternoon, taking down fellow first-place contender, Arkansas-Fort Smith 72-66.
 
With this win, the Rattlers (13-8, 10-4 in conference) are now in sole possession of the first rank in conference tournament standings and are tied for first with provisional member, Lubbock Christian, in overall league standings.
 
The Lions' loss bumped them to the No. 2 spot in the league after coming to Bill Greehey Arena tied for first with the Rattlers while holding the tiebreaker.
 
The Lions were able to bring the hotly contested game within one with just two minutes on the clock before sending Bryce Smith to the foul line where he would go a crucial 3-4 to seal the Rattlers' victory over the Lions, 72-66.
 
Leading the way both offensively and defensively for the Rattlers was guard Marvin Whitt (Sr., Birmingham, Ala.), who in his usual fashion, contributed a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
 
Isaiah Matthews (R-Sr., Texas City, Texas) contributed nine points from off the bench, followed by Justin Alexander (Sr., San Antonio) and Kriston Minor (Jr., Huntsville, Texas), who chipped in eight points apiece.
 
Smith (RS-Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas) also had a big night for the Rattlers, scoring six points on 1-1 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from the charity stripe, as well as pulling down eight boards and contributing two assists.
 
StMU took control of the game right out of the gate, leading for the majority of the first half and leading by as much as 13 points late in the first frame.
 
After the teams traded off shots to start the game, back-to-back threes from Minor and a tip-in from Alexander gave the squad a five-point lead early in the first frame.
 
The Lions (13-9, 9-5 in conference) fought to narrow the gap, bringing the score to within two twice during the first frame only to see the Rattlers go on a late, 12-6 run, sending the squads to halftime with the Rattlers leading 33-26.
 
"I thought we got off to a good start," head coach Jim Zeleznak said of his squad's first half performance. "I was pleased with our defensive intensity in the first half and I thought we did a pretty good job all the way up until the last minute or so when they knocked down a couple of open threes."
 
The second half saw the Lions come out with a vengeance, shifting the momentum in their favor by going on an early nine-point run to lead the Rattlers 37-35 just minutes into the second frame.
 
"We came into the second half unable to match the same intensity that we had in the first half," Zeleznak said. "Consequently, they took advantage of it."
 
The Lions were able to extend their lead to seven with twelve minutes remaining before the Rattlers began to rally back, flipping the advantage back in their favor at the 8:35 mark.
 
"I thought that we showed a lot of resolve late in the game," Zeleznak said. "I thought that our guys really responded well to being down and facing some adversity and had the poise to get themselves back into the game."
 
The game stayed tight for the duration of the second half with the lead changing eight times and the score being tied twice.
 
The match was tied for the final time at the 4:39 mark when Whitt sunk a three-point shot that spurred the Rattlers' eleven-point run in the final minutes of the game.
 
The Rattlers head out on the road for their next four Heartland conference games, taking on St. Edward's, Texas-Permian Basin, A&M-International and Dallas Baptist, in hopes of securing the right to host the conference tournament.
 
Their first stop will be against rival St. Edward's at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Austin, Texas.
 
"I told them a few weeks ago that every road game that we play, the team that we are playing will have their biggest crowd of the year there," Zeleznak said. "They're going to have to get used to that because not only are [we] in first place, but it's because [we're] St. Mary's and [we're] wearing blue and gold.
 
"We hope that our guys take the same kind of mindset on the road with them. It's not about where we are in the conference standings, it's about performing at a level that will go on the road with us and help us play better," said Zeleznak. 


 
Print Friendly Version

Sponsors