GOLDEN, Colo. — The St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team took an early lead over the eighth-ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Saturday evening but struggled shooting in the second half to fall 83-63.
The Rattlers (1-1) shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but managed only 24.2 percent in the second stanza, while the Orediggers (1-1) shot over 55 percent in each half.
St. Mary's had a trio of players score in double figures, led by junior
Eddie McPhee (Denver, Colo.) with 13 off the bench.
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) and
Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield, Texas) scored 12 and 10, respectively.
Three Rattlers also had five rebounds each as StMU out-rebounded CSM 38-to-33 and the team had more rebounds on the offensive end of the floor, 21-to-17. Senior
Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia), Claxton and
Malcolm Steadman (Union City, Calif.) each had a handful of boards, while Bofinger and junior forward
Franklin Agu (London, England) each had four assists to pace the team, and Wiggins led the game with four steals.
St. Mary's led for much of the first half, using a seven-point scoring run from a McPhee triple at 14:38 to a Claxton steal and breakaway layup at 14:07 to build a nine-point advantage, but the Orediggers chipped away, tying the game at 28-28 on a three-pointer with 5:44 to play and they scored 15 of the final 17 points of the period to take a 44-36 lead into the break.
In the second period, the Rattlers were unable to put together any long runs to get back within striking distance, dropping their first game of the year.
The team remains on the road, headed to Sul Ross State for a battle with the newest member of the Lone Star Conference in a non-conference doubleheader with the women's team. The game on Friday, Nov. 15 is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
