SAN ANTONIO — Preseason Lone Star Conference Player of the Year
Damani Claxton poured in 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to help push the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team to a 78-53 win over Regis on Friday night.
Claxton, a senior guard from Bronx, N.Y., added a team-high three assists as the Rattlers (1-0) led wire-to-wire for their third-straight season-opening win over the Rangers (0-1).
Senior
Eddie McPhee, who went to high school a dozen miles away from the Regis campus, scored a career-best 18 points, tied for game-high honors with three steals and grabbed six rebounds.
All 11 players who saw action for the Rattlers scored at least two points in the game, while eight of the 11 grabbed a rebound and seven dished out an assist. StMU out-rebounded the Rangers 35-to-23 on the night and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points.
St. Mary's did a good job at the free throw line, shooting 81.3 percent, making 13 of its 16 attempts.
Senior transfer
Olaverr Camacho (Barberena, Santa Rosa, Guatemala) led the game with eight rebounds, getting four on offense and four on defense, and he tied for game-high honors with two blocked shots.
The Rattlers led by as many as 40 points in the game, building a 73-33 lead with 9:50 remaining on a
Lawyer Jones (Waco, Texas). Regis used a 12-point scoring run late in the second half to cut the deficit to 23, but McPhee scored on a second-chance layup on a pass from senior
Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield, Texas) for the 25-point final spread.
St. Mary's remains at home, hosting No. 10 Colorado School of Mines on Sunday at Noon. The Orediggers dropped a close, 63-58 decision in Lubbock to fall to 0-4 on the year.
