SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team forced No. 10 Colorado School of Mines into turning the ball over 20 times and cashed that into 29 points as the Rattlers won 68-62 on Sunday afternoon.
Ten of the 11 Rattlers (2-0) scored at least two points, and all 11 grabbed at least one rebound as the team held the lead for over 34 of the 40 minutes on the day to improve to 2-0. Senior
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) led the team with 13 points, while senior
Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield, Texas) added 12 off the bench and senior
Olaverr Camacho (Barberena, Santa Rosa, Guatemala) narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
After five ties and two ties in the first 4:13, the Rattlers took the lead on a driving layup by Claxton for the 10-9 tally, and StMU didn't trail again until the Orediggers (0-5) went on an 11-0 run for a 44-42 lead at the 11:19 mark in the second half. St. Mary's responded with a 6-0 run of its own. Down one, 49-48 with 9:23 remaining, StMU went on a 14-2 run to push the lead back to 11, 62-51 with 4:02 left and went on to win by six, 68-62.
The Rattlers struggled from beyond the arc, making only 1-of-14 attempts, but they made up for it with a 17-for-22 day (77.3%) at the free throw line, and the defense made a nuisance of itself, collecting 13 steals. Senior
Eddie McPhee (Denver) led the game with four swipes, while senior
Sebastian Mendoza (Riverside, Calif.) added three.
McPhee also tied for game-high honors with three assists, matching Claxton, and Camacho blocked a pair of shots.
St. Mary's remains at home, hosting Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Savage Storm are 0-2 on the year after falling to both Minot State and Minnesota-Duluth in the GAC/NSIC Challenge over the weekend.
