Thursday, January 11 • #6 DBU • 7:30 p.m.
#6 DBU (11-1, 5-1)
Head Coach: Blake Flickner (327-203-2)
at St. Mary's (5-7, 1-5)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (5-7)
Arena: Bill Greehey
Saturday, January 13 • UT Tyler • 3 p.m.
UT Tyler (2-10, 1-5)
Head Coach: Tim Moser (2-10)
at St. Mary's (5-7, 1-5)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (5-7)
Arena: Bill Greehey
Opening Tip
•   St. Mary's Men's Basketball hosts a pair of Patriots this week when #6 DBU and UT Tyler come to town. It is the first time in a month the Rattlers have played at home.
•   DBU enters this week ranked No. 6 in the NABC Coaches poll. They are the highest ranked team to come to San Antonio since West Texas A&M was ranked third and played at Bill Greehey on Dec. 14, 2019.
•   DBU holds a 21-10 lead in the all-time series over the Rattlers and have won the last 10 meetings. The last St. Mary's win came back on Jan. 2, 2017, 69-65.
•   The youngest rivalry in the Lone Star, Saturday will be the sixth meeting between St. Mary's and UT Tyler with the Patriots holding a slight 3-2 edge in the series. The teams split last season with each winning on their home court.
•   St. Mary's is one of only two teams in the Lone Star Conference that has five players averaging double figures in scoring, along with UT Permian Basin. Davion Coleman (14.3), Jalon Johnson (11.4), Keith Dinwiddie (11.3), Tyler Caron (10.6) and Lachlan Bofinger (10.0) are all scoring 10 or more points a night.
•   A season ago, the Rattlers scored over 75 a total of eight times. This season, the team has scored over 75 in 10 of the first 12 games of the year.
•   The Rattlers have utilized seven different starting lineups in 12 games this season. Only Jalon Johnson has started all 12 contests, though seven Rattlers have played in all 12.
•   Lachlan Bofinger ranks second in the Lone Star Conference (and 26th in the nation) in offensive rebounds. He also ranks second in the Lone Star and eighth in the nation with seven double-doubles, trailing only Lathaniel Bastian's nine (UTPB). In conference games, Bofinger is averaging a double-double with 10.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He and Bastian are the only two averaging a double-double against league foes.
•   The Rattlers have the best bench scoring in the Lone Star Conference, as the team averages 31.17 points from the non-starters.Â
•   The 14.33 offensive rebounds per game this season ranks 10th in the nation and leads the Lone Star Conference. The team also leads the league and is 30th nationally in rebounds per game with 40.08.
•   Senior Tyler Caron sank another four three-pointers last week, and he moved into a tie for fifth all-time in St. Mary's history with 133. Caron knots Anthony Weeaks (2001-04) and moves past former teammate Kobe Magee (2019-22) with 132 triples.
•   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.
•   Senior transfer Davion Coleman earned the first-ever Lone Star Offensive Player of the Week honors 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 has made at least one three-pointer in 174 consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017. The Rattlers are averaging 6.7 triples a contest and eight different players have made at least one this year.
•   Several Rattlers are closing in or recently accomplished career milestones:
   Tyler Caron: 6 assists shy of 100; 22 points shy of 900
   Davion Coleman: 300th point at Texas A&M Kingsville (310); 3 assists shy of 50
   Keith Dinwiddie: 16 points shy of 300; 1 assist shy of 50
   Diego Gonzalez: 10 points shy of 100
   Jalon Johnson: 6 steals shy of 50; 42 points shy of 400
   Edward Manuel: 29 points shy of 200
   Seny N'Diaye: 1 blocks shy of 50; 14 points shy of 100; 4 rebounds shy of 150
•   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.
•   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 was the best since the 2012-13 season when the Rattlers reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
•   The 2023-24 season is the 90th season of men's basketball at St. Mary's. The team is 1393-937 all-time.
