SAN ANTONIO – On Thursday night, the St. Mary's Men's Basketball team eclipsed 100 points for the second time this season as they defeated the Western New Mexico Mustangs, 101-93 inside the Bill Greehey Arena.
The Rattlers dominated the glass as they pulled down 44 rebounds to just 17 for Western New Mexico.
St. Mary's had an efficient first half as they shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 8-of-12 triples. Despite a solid offensive performance in the opening half, the Rattlers trailed by nine at the break due to a 28-point first half performance by Western New Mexico's Elijah Holifield.
When trailing at halftime, St. Mary's was 0 for their last 11 but turned the tide tonight as they outscored the Mustangs 52-35 in the second stanza. The Rattlers held Holifield to just five points in the second half.
The Rattlers came out hot in the second half as they opened with a 14-2 run to regain the lead for the first time since the 5:39 mark in the first half. The middle part of the second half was a back-and-forth affair with the Mustangs leading by as many as seven points but with 6:51 to play
Emmanuel Ewuzie put back a missed three to give the Rattlers the lead for good. Ewuzie finished with seven points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Markques Houston netted a team-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting including 4-of-8 from long distance.
Zach Keller gave the Rattlers a huge spark off the bench as the freshman was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field (3-of-3 from beyond the arc) for a career-high 15 points.
St. Mary's will return to action on Saturday as they host UT Permian Basin. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
