Thursday, November 30 • Western New Mexico • 7:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. CT
St. Mary's (3-1)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (3-1)
at Western New Mexico (2-3)
Head Coach: Mark Bunker (2-3)
Arena: D.L. Drag's Court
Saturday, December 2 • Eastern New Mexico • 3 p.m. MT/4 p.m. CT
St. Mary's (3-1)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (3-1)
at Eastern New Mexico (2-2)
Head Coach: Brent Owen (26-31)
Arena: Greyhound Arena
Opening Tip
• St. Mary's kicks off its fifth season in the Lone Star Conference with a trip west to face Western New Mexico on Thursday night and an afternoon tilt on Saturday at Eastern New Mexico. The Rattlers have won five straight against the Mustangs and won last season against the Greyhounds.
• St. Mary's owns an 8-2 lead in the series with Western New Mexico and this will be the first time since 2006 the teams have met in Silver City. The Rattlers are 2-3 all-time against Eastern New Mexico and they will be playing in Portales for the first time.
• Senior transfer Lachlan Bofinger leads the Lone Star Conference with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game and has notched two double-doubles in four games this year -- coming off the bench. He also ranks fourth in the LSC with 1.25 blocks/game and ninth in total rebounds (7.2).
• In the overtime loss at Midwestern State, the Rattlers collected a school record 29 offensive rebounds (Division II era), breaking the previous record of 28 against Huston-Tillotson on Dec. 1, 2009. St. Mary's out-rebounded the Mustangs 62-to-33 in the game
• The Rattlers used an 18-point run midway through the second half of the College of Biblical Studies game, thanks in part to six steals, to turn a three-point deficit (50-53) into a 15-point lead (68-53) and went on to win 82-69. Senior Diego Gonzalez tied his career-high with five steals, getting four during the scoring stretch.
• The 17 steals for the Rattlers against CBS ties for the seventh most in St. Mary's history and is the most in a game since they had 19 against Regis on Nov. 14, 2015.
• Senior transfer Davion Coleman earned the first-ever Lone Star Offensive Player of the Week honors for the Rattlers after helping lead the team to a 2-0 start. Coleman averaged 25.5 points, scoring a career-best 29 in the win over Regis.
• St. Mary's is ranked No. 7 in the D2CSC All-Region poll after starting the season 3-1. DBU is ranked No. 1, while MSU Denver is 2nd.
• St. Mary's currently leads the Lone Star and ranks second in the nation with 24.0 free throws made per game. The Rattlers are also third with 31.5 attempts per game .
• The 19.25 offensive rebounds per game this season rank second in the nation and lead the Lone Star Conference. The team also leads the league and is 10th in rebounds per game with 44.75.
• Head Coach Bubba Meyer did something neither his father, legendary coach Buddy Meyer, or his mentor, Jim Zeleznak was able to do in winning his first game at the helm of the Rattlers. In fact, the 2-0 start for St. Mary's is the best since the 2012-13 season when the Rattlers reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
• With his nine three-pointers this season, senior Tyler Caron has jumped into eighth on the St. Mary's career charts with 119 triples. He passed both Rod Bellard (2006-08) and Albert Gant (1994-97) last week and is three shy of tying Chris LeGrand (1992-95) for seventh with 122.
• Bubba Meyer was named the team's 17th head coach on March 21, taking over for long-time head coach Jim Zeleznak. Meyer is no stranger to the program, serving as the assistant coach for 22 seasons and playing for StMU from 1998-2001.
• The Rattlers return six letterwinners off last season's team and add six newcomers, including four Division I transfers and two JUCO transfers.
• St. Mary's has made at least one three-pointer in 166 consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017. A year ago, the Rattlers averaged 6.1 triples per game.
• The 2023-24 season is the 90th season of men's basketball at St. Mary's. The team is 1391-931 all-time.
• Senior Tyler Caron returns for his senior season after earning Lone Star All-Conference Third Team honors a season ago. Caron averaged 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 2022-23, making 56 three-pointers and shooting 88.7 percent from the free throw line.
• Several Rattlers are closing in or recently accomplished career milestones:
Lachlan Bofinger: 8 points shy of 250; 6 rebounds shy of 250; 4 offensive rebounds shy of 100
Tyler Caron: 800th point vs CBS (804); 1 offensive rebound shy of 100; 1 steal shy of 50
Davion Coleman: 200th career point at MSU (226);
Keith Dinwiddie: 9 points shy of 200
Jalon Johnson: 100th rebound vs CBS (101)
Ed Manuel: 11 rebounds shy of 100
Seny N'Diaye: 7 blocks shy of 50
