TYLER, Texas — It was a complete team effort for the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team as they defeated UT Tyler for the second time this year.
All nine Rattlers (10-11, 6-9 Lone Star Conference) who saw action scored at least three points and eight of the nine grabbed at least one rebound as they won 78-68 over the Patriots (3-18, 2-13 Lone Star).
Senior
Jalon Johnson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) called his own number on offense instead of passing off the ball, leading the team with 16 points. It is the first time in 11 games he hasn't had at least four assists, dishing out only one.
Senior
Tyler Caron (Longview, Texas) scored 14 and brought down seven boards, inching ever closer to the 1,000-point milestone as he now needs eight.
Junior
Franklin Agu (London, England) and senior
Davion Coleman (Houston) also both scored in double figures with 13 and 11, respectively. Agu and senior
Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds. Bofinger also blocked a career-high three shots – doing so all in the first half.
As he's done all year, senior
Diego Gonzalez (Arecibo, Puerto Rico) was a pest on defense, swiping four of the team's seven steals.
The Rattlers held the lead for 34:45 of the 40 minutes in the game and never trailed by more than two. They capitalized on Patriot turnovers, scoring 17 points off the 11 UTT miscues.
The Rattlers used their pressure defense in the first half to upset the Patriots' rhythm and build a lead. The momentum in the second half slowed way down as the two teams were whistled for a combined 26 fouls. The Rattlers made 17-of-22 from the free throw line in the second stanza, while the Patriots sank 13-of-16 to keep the game close.
Bryce Roberts (23) and John Barbee (17) accounted for 40 of the Patriots' 68 points on the night and each corralled eight rebounds to tie for game-high honors with Agu and Bofinger.
St. Mary's remains on the road, heading to Dallas to square off with #4 DBU on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Patriots defeated St. Edward's 69-59 on Thursday evening.
