Free Throws Lead to Victory for Men's Basketball

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team held off UAFS, making seven of its final eight free throws in the last 35 seconds to snap its three-game losing skid with a 73-67 win on Saturday evening.
 
The Rattlers (11-10, 8-4 Lone Star Conference) got 17 points from both sophomore Tyler Caron (Longview, Texas) and senior Kobe Magee (San Antonio). Senior guard Caleb Jordan (Midlothian, Texas) added 12 – with another perfect 8-for-8 night at the free throw line – and junior Josh Brewer (Indianapolis, Ind.) came off the bench to add 11.
 
Junior Emmanuel Ewuzie (San Antonio) grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds as the Rattlers won the battle of the boards, 34-to-28 over the Lions (12-10, 6-4 LSC).
 
Magee paced the team with four assists and he and Jordan each had a team-best three steals, while Caron chipped in two blocked shots.
 
St. Mary's led for 38:07 in the game, trailing for only 39 seconds early in the first half. The win keeps the Rattlers in fourth-place in the Lone Star standings with only two league games remaining (three overall) in the regular season.
 
The Rattlers hit the road for the final two league tilts, playing at UT Tyler on Thursday and Texas A&M Commerce on Saturday. The final home game of the season will be a non-league contest against St. Edward's on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
 
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES

• For the second-time this season Caleb Jordan went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He also made all eight of his tries at St. Edward's back on Jan. 25.
• Emmanuel Ewuzie grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds – one off his career-high of 11, which he's done twice before.
• Kobe Magee made four triples on the night, bringing his StMU career to 121 – which ranks him seventh in school history. Caleb Jordan is also fifth on the same list with 126 treys, though he didn't attempt any against UAFS.
• All seven players who saw action in 14 minutes or more scored at least two points, brought down one rebound and dished out an assist.
• In the last four games, the Rattlers are shooting 83.1 percent from the free throw line, making 69 of their 83 attempts.