Thursday, February 22 • #1 West Texas A&M • 7:30 p.m.
#1 West Texas A&M (24-1, 18-0)
Head Coach: Tom Brown (260-58)
at St. Mary's (11-13, 7-11)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (11-13)
Arena: Bill Greehey Arena
Saturday, February 24 • #RV Lubbock Christian (Senior day) • 3 p.m.
#RV Lubbock Christian (19-7, 14-4)
Head Coach: Todd Duncan (240-130)
at St. Mary's (11-13, 7-11)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (11-13)
Arena: Bill Greehey Arena
Opening Tip
•   The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team returns home after splitting each of the last three weeks, with the last two coming on the road. The Rattlers host #1 West Texas A&M on Thursday and welcome Lubbock Christian, which is receving votes in the national poll, on Saturday for Senior Day.
•   The Rattlers will honor Tyler Caron, Jalon Johnson, Ed Manuel, Jaden Moore and Haik Tatevosyan during the pre-game ceremony.
•   With his five three-pointers last week, senior Tyler Caron jumped into second in St. Mary's career history with 159 three-pointers. The senior passed both Billy White (2002-05) and Skyler Brooks (2015-19) who sank 157 in their standout careers, and former teammate Caleb Jordan (2018-2023) who was second with 158. The career record at St. Mary's is 176 triples by Tyrell Whisenton (1995-98).
•   This will be the only meeting this season against both the Buffs and the Chaps, as the two teams are in the other division.
•   West Texas owns a significant 18-3 lead in the all-time series., though the Rattlers won the last meeting in San Antonio, 100-98 in overtime back in 2022.
•   Lubbock Christian also owns a lead in the series with the Rattlers, 11-5 and have won seven straigh. StMU is 3-4 at home against the Chaps, last winning in 2016.
•   St. Mary's has never faced the No. 1-ranked team in the nation since joining Division II in 2000. The highest ranked team to visit Bill Greehey Arena was West Texas A&M when they were #3 back on Dec. 14, 2019.
•   The 17 points for Tyler Caron at UAFS marked the 50th time in the senior's career he's scored 10 or more in a game. With those 17 points, he passed Albert Gant (1994-97) in career scoring into 21st and he needs five more to tie Adrian Wright (1988-91) for 20th all-time.
•   Senior Jalon Johnson has amassed 215 assists in two seasons with the Rattlers. It is the fourth-most by a two-year player in St. Mary's history. Gabe Ramirez holds the two-year record for assists with 491 in 1990-92.
•   Senior Tyler Caron became the 23rd player in St. Mary's history to top the 1,000 point milestone, doing so with a layup at 18:55 in the second half at DBU on Feb. 10.
•   Diego Gonzalez became the sixth different Rattler this season to score 20 or more points in a game when he scored a career-best 20 at DBU.Â
•   In the win at UAFS, Tyler Caron, Keith Dinwiddie and Edward Manuel all hit four three-pointers. It is the first time this season, three players have hit four or more in a game.
•   The Rattlers have the best bench scoring in the Lone Star Conference, as the team averages 31.29 points from the non-starters. That average also ranks as the 23rd-best in the nation.
•   Senior Lachlan Bofinger has amassed 12 double-doubles this season. He currently ranks 9th nationally and second in the league, two back from UTPB's Lathaniel Bastian. The 12 double-doubles are the most at St. Mary's since Kevin Kotzur posted 19 in his senior season (2012-13).
•   A season ago, the Rattlers scored over 75 a total of eight times. This season, the team has scored over 75 in 21 of the 23 games of the year.
•   Lachlan Bofinger leads the Lone Star Conference (and is 12th in the nation) in offensive rebounds with 3.38 per game. He also ranks second in the Lone Star in total rebounds per game with 8.8, which is 30th nationally.
•   Senior Diego Gonzalez tied for the third-most steals in a single game when he swiped seven against UAFS on Jan. 18. Gonzalez tied Ky Dell from Feb. 15, 2003 against Drury and was two off the record of nine by both Billy White (2002) and Isaiah Parros (2015).
•   The Rattlers have utilized nine different starting lineups in 20 games this season. Only Jalon Johnson has started all 24 contests, though four Rattlers have played in all 24.
•   Several Rattlers are closing in or recently accomplished career milestones:
   Franklin Agu: 200th point at Oklahoma Christian (210)
   Lachlan Bofinger: 24 points shy of 500; 15 assists shy 100
   Tyler Caron: 1 blocked shot shy of 50
   Davion Coleman: 17 boards shy of 100 at StMU
   Keith Dinwiddie: 21 points shy of 400
   Dawson John: 15 points shy of 100 at StMU
   Edward Manuel: 200th StMU point at OC (216)
•   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 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 186 consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017. The Rattlers are averaging 6.9 triples a contest and 10 different players have made at least one this year.
