Men's Basketball Back on Track with Wire to Wire Win

ALPINE, Texas — The St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team was efficient in a wire-to-wire 89-45 win at Sul Ross State on Friday night.

The Rattlers (2-1) shot 58.5 percent from the floor for the game, including 66.7 percent in the second half, and shot better from beyond the arc, connecting on 58.8 percent of their three-point shots (10-for-17).

All 11 Rattlers who played in the game scored at least one point and had one or more rebounds. Seven of the 11 also recorded a steal as the team swiped 11.

Five players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Damani Claxton's (Bronx, N.Y.) career-high 20 points. Freshman Lawyer Jones (Waco, Texas) added a career-high 13 points, while senior Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia), junior Eman Lawal (Mississauga, Ontario) and senior Sebastian Mendoza (Riverside, Calif.) each scored 10. 

Junior Malcolm Steadman (Union City, Calif.) tied for game-high honors in rebounds with seven as the Rattlers out-rebounded the Lobos (1-3) 38-to-24 and limited SRS to four offensive rebounds.

Mendoza led the game with four assists and four players had two steals each. Lawal also had the lone blocked shot for the Gold and Blue. The bench players almost outscored the entire SRS team, scoring 44 of the team's 89 points, while the Lobos totaled 45.

Due to some preseason scheduling conflicts, the Rattlers will jump into Lone Star Conference play next week, traveling to Midwestern State on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs defeated Western Colorado 81-67 on Friday night and host Adams State on Saturday before welcoming the Rattlers to town.