DALLAS — It may have taken an extra five minutes, but the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team snapped a 12-game losing skid to long-time foe DBU, winning 88-83 in overtime over the eighth-ranked Patriots on Thursday afternoon.
St. Mary's led most of the way, taking a 21-point lead with 14:12 to play, 59-38, but the Patriots (14-3, 6-2) went on an 18-4 run to cut the deficit to seven, 63-56, with 6:09 to play, and tied the game at 70-70 on a three-pointer by Cody Stevens with six seconds left to force overtime.
Free throws, which have been a challenge the majority of the season for the Rattlers (9-4, 6-1), were a major key in winning as the team nailed 9-of-10 from the line in overtime to stretch the winning streak to three. The team also missed only one shot from the field in the extra stanza, a three-pointer, going 4-for-5.
It is the first win for the Rattlers in the Burg Center since 2015 – a game that also went an extra period – 83-77 on Feb. 23, 2015.
The Patriots' smothering defense wreaked havoc in the second half during their comeback, forcing the Rattlers into a season-high 20 turnovers, but the Rattlers shot 50.8 percent for the game, making the most of their possessions.
Junior guard
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) had an answer every time the Patriots made a run, scoring a game- and career-high 25 points, while defending LSC Player of the Week
Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) added 17 points, eight rebounds and a game-high tying six assists.
Both
Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield, Texas) and
Franklin Agu (London, England) came off the bench to score in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Wiggins also added a career-high eight rebounds and a career-high tying four steals.
Ricky Lujan led the Patriots with 21 points, while Xavion Brown grabbed a game-high 10 boards and dished out a team-high six assists.
StMU won the battle of the boards, 46-to-40, but the Patriots managed 17 offensive rebounds compared to only 12 for the Gold and Blue. Both teams concentrated on points in the paint, with 94 of the combined 171 points coming down low. The 52 points in the paint by StMU is a season-high, surpassing the 50 they've poured in three other times.
The Rattlers remain on the road, playing at UT Tyler on Saturday at 3 p.m. The UTT Patriots host St. Edward's on Thursday evening before welcoming the Rattlers to town.
