Men's Basketball Returns to Bill Greehey Hoping to Rebound

Wednesday, December 6 • Midwestern State • 7:30 p.m.
Midwestern State (7-1)
Head Coach: Justin Leslie (320-182)
at St. Mary's (4-2)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (4-2)
Arena: Bill Greehey Arena

Opening Tip

•    The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team returns home for a rematch against Midwestern State on Wednesday. The Rattlers lost in overtime, 108-104, at Midwestern State on Nov. 18.

•    The overtime contest brought the Mustangs within one of tying the all-time series, but the Rattlers still hold a 19-18 edge. The game Wednesday will be the first in Bill Greehey Arena since the 2016-17 season as the last five have been in Wichita Falls.

•    Nine different players have scored 10 or more points in a game this season for the Rattlers. Jalon Johnson has hit double digits in points five times, while     Davion Coleman leads the team with 16.3 points per game.

•    In the two conference games, seven players are averaging 8.0 or more points per game, led by Keith Dinwiddie with 14.5 a contest.

•    St. Mary's currently leads the Lone Star and ranks fifth in the nation with 20.8 free throws made per game. The Rattlers are also sixth with 28.2 attempts per game .

•    The 16.0 offensive rebounds per game this season rank sixth in the nation and lead the Lone Star Conference. The team also leads the league and is 21st nationally in rebounds per game with 41.67.

•    Senior Jalon Johnson ranks second in the Lone Star Conference with a 3.38 assist-to-turnover ratio and he's third in the league with 4.5 assists per game. 

•    Senior transfer Lachlan Bofinger has three double-doubles this season, which is tied for the 18th-most in the NCAA. He is the only player in the top 18 who has not started a game to appear on the list. The remainder of the list has started in at least 2/3 of their games.

•    Lachlan Bofinger also ranks second in the Lone Star Conference with 3.17 offensive rebounds per game and fifth in total rebounds with 7.3 per game.

•    For the first time this season, five Rattlers scored in double figures at ENMU on Saturday.  The last time the team had five score 10 or more was Feb. 11, 2023 in an 83-67 win against Arkansas-Fort Smith.

•    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.

•    Senior Edward Manuel tied the team's season-high for steals when he swiped five at Eastern New Mexico, knotting the five Diego Gonzalez collected in the win over College of Biblical Studies. They are the only two on the current roster with five steals in a game and Gonzalez has done it twice.

•    The next three-pointer for senior Tyler Caron will tie him for seventh on the St. Mary's career triples made chart. Chris LeGrand (1992-95) currently ranks seventh with 122 three-pointers. 

•    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.

•    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.

•    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. 

•    Several Rattlers are closing in or recently accomplished career milestones:

    Lachlan Bofinger: 250th point at ENMU, 12/2 (252); 250th rebound at ENMU, 12/2; 1 offensive rebound shy of 100

    Tyler Caron: 100th offensive rebound at WNMU, 11/30; 50th steal at ENMU, 12/2; 15 assists shy of 100

    Keith Dinwiddie: 200th point at WNMU, 11/30

    Diego Gonzalez: 12 points shy of 100

    Jalon Johnson: 13 points shy of 300; 14 steals shy of 50; 12 defensive rebounds shy of 100

    Ed Manuel: 5 rebounds shy of 100; 14 points shy of 150

    Seny N'Diaye: 6 blocks shy of 50; 23 points shy of 100

•    St. Mary's has made at least one three-pointer in 168 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 1392-932 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.