SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's Men's Basketball stayed composed, sinking nine of 10 from the free throw line in the final minute to win the opening game of Lone Star Conference play over Western New Mexico on Thursday night, 73-65.
The Rattlers (2-2, 1-0 Lone Star) handed the Mustangs (6-1, 0-1 Lone Star) their first loss of the year, holding them to 27 percent from beyond the arc (6-for-22).
Junior
Jalon Johnson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) was 6-for-6 at the charity stripe, while junior
Tyler Caron (Longview, Texas) and senior
Caleb Jordan (Midlothian, Texas) each were 4-for-4 as the team made 23-of-30 in the contest.
Jordan paced the team with 19 points and Caron chipped in 13. Both senior
Mamady Djikine (Paris, France) and sophomore
Diego Gonzalez (Arecibo, Puerto Rico) came off the bench to score nine each.
Senior
Ryan Leonard (Kerry, Ireland) led the team with three assists and three steals, while senior
Emmanuel Ewuzie (San Antonio) had a game-high 12 rebounds and a team-best two blocked shots. It is the second-straight game Ewuzie has brought down double-digit boards.
The Rattlers led for over 33 minutes in the game, trailing just 2:34 and they never trailed by more than two.
St. Mary's hosts Eastern New Mexico on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Greyhounds fell to St. Edward's 91-63 earlier on Thursday evening.
