AUSTIN, Texas – St. Mary's Men's Basketball entered the house of the second-best free throw shooting team in the nation and beat them at their own game, shooting 86.4 percent (19-for-22) from the free throw line in a 79-76 thriller over St. Edward's on Tuesday night.
Senior
Caleb Jordan (Midlothian, Texas) went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, including a pair with eight seconds remaining to ice the game for the Rattlers (15-11, 12-9 Lone Star).
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Jordan ended the night with a game-high 23 points, topping the 20-point milestone for the second-straight game and the fifth time in 2022-23. He also moved into sixth on the St. Mary's career scoring chart with 1,602 points, passing former head coach Buddy Meyer (1962-65) who scored 1,581 in his standout career. His two three-pointers move him into a tie for second all-time with Billy White (2002-05) and Skyler Brooks (2015-19) with 157 and his nine free throws push him past the 400 made milestone, extending his career record.
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Both
Emmanuel Ewuzie (San Antonio) and
Jalon Johnson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) scored 13 points. Johnson drove to the basket, made the layup and was fouled with 1:14 on the clock to give the Rattlers the lead for good, 73-71, on a night that saw 18 ties and 15 lead changes.
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Mamady Djikine was the fourth Rattler to score in double figures, adding 10 points. Jordan and Ewuzie led the team with six rebounds each, while Jordan and junior
Tyler Caron (Longview, Texas) each had three assists to pace the team.Â
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The two teams face off again on Thursday evening in San Antonio as the Rattlers will celebrate Senior Night. Game time is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. The Rattlers are currently tied for seventh in the league standings with Eastern New Mexico, which lost to Western New Mexico on Monday. The two teams play again on Thursday night in Silver City.
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