This Week in Rattlers Basketball
D2 Holiday Hoops Classic
Missouri S&T • Thursday, December 19 • 3:30 p.m. (CT)/1:30 p.m. (PT)
Missouri S&T (7-0)
Head Coach: Bill Walker (118-159)
vs St. Mary's (5-3)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (17-19)
Broadcast: FloCollege
Western Washington • Friday, December 20 • 5:45 p.m. (CT)/3:45 p.m. (PT)
Western Washington (7-3)
Head Coach: Tony Dominguez (221-118)
vs St. Mary's (5-3)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (17-19)
Broadcast: FloCollege
Holiday Hoops On Tap: St. Mary's heads to Las Vegas for the D2 Holiday Hoops Classic where they will face Missouri S&T on Thursday and Western Washington on Friday. It is the first time since 2013-14 the Rattlers have played in a tournament in Las Vegas.
History with Missouri S&T: The Rattlers won the only previous meeting back in 2015, a 62-51 victory at the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic.
Scouting the Miners: Missouri S&T is currently 7-0 on the year and has played its last six games at home. They have four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Andrew Young with 15.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Young is shooting 60 percent from the floor. Lovelll Williams leads the team with 6.3 assists a contest. The Miners are out-rebounding their opponents 40.8-33.7 and outscoring them 89.3-66.0.
History with Western Washington: Friday will be the first-ever meeting against the Vikings. WWU faces Lubbock Christian on the first night before playing the Rattlers. Â
Scouting the Vikings: Western Washington is 7-3 on the year and has six players who average double figures in scoring. Will Wilson averages a team-best 16.9 a contest. Grant Kepley leads the team with 5.2 rebounds and is second in scoring with 14.2 a contest. He also leads the way with 5.1 assists per night. The Vikings are outscoring opponents 85.3-71.3 and out-rebounding foes 34.6-32.8.
Hitting the Milestones: Senior Lachlan Bofinger scored the 600th point of his career against Midwestern State and tallied his 400th point at St. Mary's the basket before hitting 600. Damani Claxton scored his 200th career point with his first in the game against the Mustangs.
Cleaning the Glass: The Rattlers have had at least 10 offensive rebounds in every game this season and currently lead the Lone Star and rank fourth nationally with 16.88 offensive rebounds a game. That number currently ranks third on the St. Mary's single season charts, trailing 20.92 by the 1955-56 team and 19.50 by the 1994-95 squad. Senior Lachlan Bofinger ranks second in the Lone Star and 16th in the nation with 3.75 per game, while senior Franklin Agu ranks seventh in the league and 78th nationally with 2.75 a contest.
Crashing the Boards: Six Rattlers have at least one rebound in every game they've played this season. Franklin Agu, Josh Reid, Malcolm Steadman and Wayne Wiggins have all grabbed at least one board, while Lachlan Bofinger, and Eddie McPhee have multiple rebounds in each contest.
Taking Care of the Ball: It all comes down to turnovers this season. The Rattlers are 5-1 when they have fewer turnovers than the opponents and 0-2 when they turn the ball over more than the opposition. StMU is averaging 12.4 miscues a game and has a +3.9 turnover margin, which ranks sixth in the Lone Star and 41st in all of Division II (287 teams). In their wins, the Rattlers are averaging 10.6 TO, while in the losses they have turned it over an average of 15.0 times.
A Perfect 10: St. Mary's has already had eight players score 10 or more points at least twice this season. Damani Claxton has hit double figures in seven games, while Lachlan Bofinger has done so six times. Wayne Wiggins has reached at least 10 three times and Franklin Agu, Lawyer Jones, Eman Lawal, Eddie McPhee, and Sebastian Mendoza have all done so twice.
It's An Honor: Sophomore guard Damani Claxton was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week after the team's wins over WNMU and SRS. He collected nine steals in the two games (4.5 per game) – including a career-best six in the team's lopsided win over Sul Ross State. His six steals tie for the third-highest total in the Rattlers' DII-era history. He also averaged 15.0 points per game with 4.5 assists in helping the Gold and Blue stretch their win total to three straight. He swiped the six while only playing 18 minutes, adding 19 points, five assists and a rebound. Against Western New Mexico on Thursday, Claxton scored 11, and recorded four assists, three steals, a rebound and a blocked shot.
Lach-ing It In: Senior Lachlan Bofinger currently ranks third in the Lone Star Conference in rebounds per game (8.9) and second in offensive rebounds per game (3.75). Bofinger currently ranks 16th in the nation in offensive rebounds and 21st in total rebounds. Â
Stop, Thief: Sophomore Damani Claxton is averaging 2.25 steals per game to rank fourth in the Lone Star statistics and 50th in the nation. Against Sul Ross State he swiped six, tying for the third-highest total in the Rattlers' DII-era history. He's had multiple thefts in five of the eight games and his average of 2.25 per game would break the school's single season record of 2.20 by Billy White from 2003-04.
