Men's Basketball Avenges Earlier Season Loss With Win Over UTPB

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team scored the first seven points of the game on Monday afternoon and never looked back, getting revenge from an earlier season loss with the 84-73 victory over UT Permian Basin.
 
The two teams played a non-conference contest on Dec. 11 that saw the Falcons (9-5, 1-2 Lone Star Conference) hit 13 triples, but on Monday in the conference tilt, the Rattlers (5-7, 2-1 Lone Star) defense held UTPB to eight while hitting 10 of their own from beyond the arc.
 
The Rattlers led for 36:06 of the 40 minutes in the contest, trailing for only 2:01 and that was all early in the first half. StMU led by as many as 17 in the game, using a 10-point run late in the first half to establish the pace.
 
Senior guard Caleb Jordan tied his season high with 19 points, doing so for the third time this year and the second time in three games to lead the team in scoring. Senior forward Mamady Djikine (Paris, France) scored in double figures for the fifth-straight game with a season-best 18 points. Junior guard Ryan Leonard (Kerry, Ireland) narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points and a career-high eight assists, while senior guard Kobe Magee (San Antonio) also dished out eight helpers as the Rattlers recorded 23 assists on 33 baskets. Sophomore forward Tyler Caron (Longview, Texas) also added double figures in scoring with 13 points and he led the club with six rebounds.
 
St. Mary's shot a season-best 58.9 percent from the field (33-for-56) including 40 percent from the three-point line (40.0 percent) and 88.9 percent from the free throw line (8-for-9). UTPB entered the game allowing only 69.7 points and the Rattlers 84 points ties for the second-most allowed by the Falcons in 2021-22.
 
UTPB was led by Miles Daniels with 19 points, Kendal Frey with 17 on 7-of-8 shooting and DaJuan Jones with 12 points and a game-high seven assists. Zavon Godwin tied for game-high honors with six rebounds.
 
St. Mary's hosts Cameron at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, looking for its third-straight victory in Lone Star Conference play, and then hosts #11 West Texas A&M on Saturday at approximately 4 p.m.
 
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES

• St. Mary's recorded 23 assists in the victory. It is the third time this season the team has tallied 20 or more in a game and tied for the second-highest total.
• For the fourth-straight contest and the eighth time this year the Rattlers had an even or positive assist-to-turnover ratio in the game with 23 assists and 18 turnovers.
• Caleb Jordan scored 19 points for the third time this season and the second time in three games to tie his season high.
• For the second time this season, junior Ryan Leonard had five or more assists in a game, notching a career-high eight. He tied for game-high honors with senior Kobe Magee, who topped the five-assist milestone for the sixth time this season and the 26th time in his career.
• Jordan's three triples in the game move him into sixth all-time in school history with 119. He passes Rod Bellard who sank 117 from 2006-2008.