Thursday, February 8 • at UT Tyler • 7:30 p.m.
St. Mary's (9-11, 5-9)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (9-11)
at UT Tyler (3-17, 2-12)
Head Coach: Tim Moser (3-17)
Arena: Louise Herrington Patriot Center
Saturday, February 10 • at #4 DBU • 2 p.m.
St. Mary's (9-11, 5-9)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (9-11)
at #4 DBU (18-2, 12-2)
Head Coach: Blake Flickner (334-204)
Arena: Burg Center
Opening Tip
•   St. Mary's Men's Basketball kicks off a four-game road trip with a pair of Patriots. The Rattlers are looking for the season sweep over UT Tyler and a split with DBU after falling to current #4 by one point a month ago.
•   The all-time series with UT Tyler is tied at 3-3 and the Rattlers have won the last two, including an 87-69 decision on Jan. 13. StMU is just 1-2 in Tyler after falling last season on a last second shot.
•   In the first meeting with UTT this season, senior Davion Coleman drew 10 fouls to go 14-of-18 from the free throw line and score a game-high 20 points. Both Micah Jones and Lachlan Bofinger scored 16 points each, and Keith Dinwiddie chipped in 11. Bofinger posted his eighth double-double of the year, leading all players with 11 rebounds.
•   DBU holds not only a 22-10 lead in the series with the Rattlers, but also an 11-game winning streak. It was tested in the first meeting as the Patriots eked out a 91-90 victory on Jan. 11. St. Mary's has dropped seven straight in the Burg Center and is 6-11 all-time on DBU's home floor.
•   The Rattlers trailed by 13, 19-to-6 with 14:21 to play in the first half but fought back to knot the score at 84-84 with 2:13 left in the first meeting with DBU on a Tyler Caron putback. StMU never gained the lead, however. Franklin Agu exploded for a career-high 21 points, more than doubling his previous career best and he collected his second-straight double-double with 10 rebounds.
•   The watch continues for senior Tyler Caron as he moves closer to the 1,000 career point milestone. Caron has 978 points, needing 22 more to become the 23rd 1,000-point scorer in St. Mary's history.
•   Senior Lachlan Bofinger added another two double-doubles to his total over the weekend, bringing him to 11 on the year. He currently ranks seventh nationally and second in the league, one back from UTPB's Lathaniel Bastian. Bofinger. The 11 double-doubles are the most at St. Mary's since Kevin Kotzur posted 19 in his senior season (2012-13).
•   While in the starting lineup, Franklin Agu has averaged 13.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Those numbers are up from 5.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists when he comes off the bench.
•   Six times this season, St. Mary's has scored 50 or more points in the second half. The Rattlers have scored 140 more points in the second half than the first, averaging 45.9 points after the break and 36.4 in the first half.
•   A season ago, the Rattlers scored over 75 a total of eight times. This season, the team has scored over 75 in 18 of the first 20 games of the year.
•   Lachlan Bofinger ranks second in the Lone Star Conference (and is 23rd in the nation) in offensive rebounds with 3.35 per game. He also ranks second in the Lone Star in total rebounds per game with 9.0, which is 29th nationally.
•   Jalon Johnson has taken over the Lone Star lead in assists per game with 5.0. He's recorded 10 straight games with at least four assists. He also ranks third in the league and 33rd nationally with a 2.54 assist-to-turnover ratio.
•   The Rattlers have the best bench scoring in the Lone Star Conference, as the team averages 30.90 points from the non-starters. That average also ranks as the 23rd-best in the nation.
•   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 20 contests, though four Rattlers have played in all 20.
•   Several Rattlers are closing in or recently accomplished career milestones:
   Franklin Agu: 100th rebound vs TAMIU (110); 28 points shy of 200
   Lachlan Bofinger: 400th point vs TAMIU (436); 5 rebounds shy of 400
   Tyler Caron: 22 points shy 1,000; 5 rebounds shy of 400
   Davion Coleman: 400th point vs TAMIU (418)
   Keith Dinwiddie: 7 points shy of 200 at StMU
   Diego Gonzalez: 50th steal vs TAMUK (51)
   Jalon Johnson: 1 point shy of 400; 1 assist shy of 200
   Edward Manuel: 17 points shy of 200 at StMU
•   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 182 consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017. The Rattlers are averaging 6.8 triples a contest and 10 different players have made at least one this year.
