SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team cut the deficit to five with 2:47 remaining in the second half, but UTSA made its free throws down the stretch to hang on and win on Monday evening, 75-65.
The Rattlers (1-2) continued to take care of the ball, turning it over only 10 times against a Division I opponent. Four players scored in double figures, led by senior
Caleb Jordan (Midlothian, Texas) with 17. Senior
Mamady Djikine (Paris, France) added 15, senior
Kobe Magee (San Antonio) chipped in 11 and junior
Emmanuel Ewuzie (San Antonio) added 10 with a team-high nine rebounds.
Both Magee and senior
Josh Brewer (Indianapolis, Ind.) had three assists, while Ewuzie led the game with four steals and he and senior
Luke Schultz (Fredericksburg, Texas) each blocked two shots as the Rattlers out-blocked the Roadrunners 5-to-3.
"I thought our guys really competed hard," Head Coach
Jim Zeleznak said. "We didn't shoot the ball really well, which put us behind the eight-ball a bit. But our defense caused a few turnovers, which allowed us to get back in the ball game. We didn't get many breaks down the stretch, but I'm really proud of how they competed tonight in a tough environment."
Early in the second half, UTSA (5-3) stretched its lead to 16 (43-27), but the Rattlers continued to chip away, using an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to seven and then closing within five, 65-60 with 2:47 left, but the 'Runners made eight of their final nine free throws over the final 2:47 to seal the victory.
After starting the game just 1-for-16 from the three-point line, the Rattlers did a much better job in the second half, hitting 4-of-10 with two from Jordan and one each from Magee and junior
Jaron Presley (Katy, Texas).
The Rattlers defense also frustrated UTSA, forcing them into 18 turnovers with 12 steals for the Gold & Blue.
St. Mary's will finally open the home portion of the season, hosting Huston Tillotson on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
"I'm looking forward to getting our injured reserves back," Zeleznak added. "Getting them into the lineup and seeing what we can put together."
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES
- Caleb Jordan led the team with 17 points and now needs just five more to score the 1,000th of his career. He will be the first player since All-American Kevin Kotzur (2009-2013) to achieve the milestone.
- The Rattlers have had at least three players score in double figures in all three games this season, and twice have had four – including Monday at UTSA with Djikine (15), Ewuzie (10), Jordan (17) and Magee (11) all hitting double digits.
- In three games this season, StMU opponents have recorded a total of just 13 steals against the Rattlers.
- The Rattlers blocked a season-high five shots against the Roadrunners – all in the first half – doubling their season total to 10.
- St. Mary's grabbed a season-best 38 rebounds on the night, recording 19 in each half of play.
