SAN ANTONIO – Despite a rough shooting night where St. Mary's connected on just eight of their 36 attempts from long distance, the Rattlers found themselves with a chance to win or tie in the final seconds but did not get a clean look as they fell to UAFS, 64-62 in their first game of 2020.
The Rattlers (6-6, 2-4 Lone Star Conference) trailed by as many as 13 but held UAFS (6-6, 2-4 Lone Star Conference) to no field goals over the final 5:12 of the game to mount a comeback. St. Mary's turned up the defensive pressure and forced the Lions into a turnover with 7.7 seconds left in the contest to get the final shot of the game.
Markques Houston led the Rattlers with 14 points while
Matej Gaspert added 11 and
Lamont Traylor chipped in with 10 points.
Curtlon Wesley just missed a double-double as he finished with eight points and a tied for a game-high with nine rebounds.
Kobe Magee dished out a game and season-high 10 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 18 minutes of the opening half were a back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than seven points.
Noah Laing knocked down a three with 4:51 left in the frame to put the Rattlers up by four points, their largest lead of the first half. The Lions proceeded to go on a 16-4 run to end the half, including a three at the buzzer put UAFS up eight at the break.
St. Mary's trailed for the duration of the game but used an 11-0 run to pull within two with 49 second remaining in the game but the Lions converted all four of their free throw attempts in the final 40 seconds of the game to seal the victory.
UP NEXT
St. Mary's will host Oklahoma Christian on Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena. The Eagles are coming off a 69-59 loss to St. Edward's Thursday evening, their third consecutive loss.
Catch the action live on the
Lone Star Conference Digital Network
