DALLAS – Markques Houston poured in a game-high 21 points to help lead the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team to a 79-78 victory over Texas A&M Commerce in the Rattlers inaugural Lone Star Conference contest.
Three other Rattlers scored in double figures including
Kobe Magee with 18 points,
Caleb Jordan with 11, and
Dylan Isenhower who contributed 10 points off the bench. Isenhower pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while
Curtlon Wesley blocked two shots. Magee dished out a team-high six assists in the win.
St. Mary's attempted a season-high 24 free throws, making 15 of those attempts. The Rattlers also nabbed a season-high nine steals and forced the Lions into 23 turnovers for the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Houston started the scoring on the first possession of the game for the Rattlers but a short 5-0 burst from the Lions made it a 12-6 game in the early going. At the first media timeout the Rattlers trailed Texas A&M Commerce, 14-9 but a 6-0 run by St. Mary's after the timeout put the Rattlers back in front by a point.
Kobe Magee gave the Rattlers a one-point lead with 10:59 left to play in the opening half and St. Mary's would lead by as many as seven. The Rattlers took a 36-31 advantage into the locker room.
A 10-4 Texas A&M Commerce run to open the second half forced St. Mary's to take a timeout at the 16:44 mark. The Rattlers trailed until Houston knocked down a triple with 8:18 left to play, putting St. Mary's up 61-58, a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the game.
The Rattlers move to 3-2 overall on the year and 1-0 in Lone Star Conference action.
UP NEXT
St. Mary's will take on the University of Texas at Tyler on Saturday in a Lone Star Conference contest. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
