SAN ANTONIO — Both teams scored 40 points in the paint and had 43 rebounds, but the difference in the game came at the free throw line as the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball made only 11-of-21 attempts, while the Midwestern State University team was 21-for-27 in its 83-76 win.
The Mustangs improve to 8-1 on the season and 2-1 in Lone Star Conference action, while the Rattlers fall to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in league action.
The remainder of the statistics were close between the two teams, as the Rattlers made two more baskets, 30 to 28, but the Mustangs sank one more three-pointer, 6 to 5. There was also a difference of one in fouls and blocked shots and less than four percentage points separating the teams in field goal percentage (41.7 for StMU, 45.2 for MSU).
For the third time in the last four games, senior
Keith Dinwiddie (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the team in scoring with 16 points, while senior
Edward Manuel (Lake Charles, La.) tallied a career-high in scoring for the second consecutive game with 14 points. He betters his previous high of 12 scored at Eastern New Mexico on Saturday. Manuel scored six straight baskets in the second half for the Rattlers from 14:25 (47-49) to 10:10 (57-57).
Senior
Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) posted his fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 14 rebounds, tying his career-high in both categories. Senior
Davion Coleman (Houston) also returned to his double-digit scoring ways, adding 10 points and a career-high six assists.
The Rattlers close out the home portion of the 2023 calendar year on Tuesday when they host Cameron at 3 p.m. The team then heads to the Daytona Beach Shootout on Dec. 17-18 to play Montana State Billings and Dominican (N.Y.).
