Men's Basketball Snaps Skid to Chaps With 74-69 Win

LUBBOCK, Texas — The St. Mary's University Men's Basketball made its final five field goals en route to a 74-69 victory at Lubbock Christian University on Saturday afternoon.
 
Neither team was able to create any separation during the contest, seeing 12 ties and 18 lead changes throughout the 40 minutes. The largest lead for either team came with the final free throw by junior Malcolm Steadman (Union City, Calif.) that cemented the five-point win.
 
The win snaps an eight-game losing skid to the Chaparrals (3-3, 1-1) and is the first for the Rattlers (3-2, 1-1) in Rip Griffin Center since the very first meeting there back in 2014.
 
Junior Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) got back on track with a game- and career-high 21 points, hitting all four of his free throw attempts and sinking three three-pointers. He's scored in double digits in four of the team's five games and leads the team with 15.0 points per contest.
 
Senior Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) recorded his second double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked three shots, dished out two assists and recorded two steals in the win. 
 
Both senior Sebastian Mendoza (Riverside, Calif.) and senior Franklin Agu (London, England) also scored in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. 
 
The Rattlers did a good job of taking care of the basketball, turning it over only eight times. They also out-rebounded the Chaps, 33-to-29. StMU did a much better job at the free throw line, making 12-of-18 for the game (66.7%) after making only 3-of-12 on Thursday night at Midwestern State. They also made 5-of-8 in the final minute on Saturday to ice the Chaps.
 
The Chaps were led in scoring by Ethan Duncan with 19 points, while Kendall Down scored 11 and Alex Anamekwe totaled 10. Amondo Miller Jr. led the team with five rebounds, three assists and the lone blocked shot. 
 
St. Mary's will finally open the home portion of its 2024-25 season on Thursday, Dec. 5 against Western New Mexico. The game will be Alumni Night, and registrations for the celebration are still open.