Men's Hoops Heads Across Town for River City Classic

This Week in Rattlers Basketball
vs Central Oklahoma • Tuesday, December 16 • 1 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    StMU leads the series 5-3 though the two teams haven't met since 2004.
•    Five of the eight games played between the two clubs have been on a neutral floor.
•    Tuesday could be a low-scoring affair as both teams rank in the top-25 in the nation in scoring defense. StMU ranks 15th (62.4), while UCO ranks 24th (65.1).
•    Both teams lead their respective leagues in blocks per game, with the Bronchos averaging 4.3 and the Rattlers averaging 4.0.
•    Matthew Willenborg leads the nation with 86 field goals made and is second with 106 rebounds. He already has five double-doubles this season.
•    This will be the sixth neutral site game of the year for UCO and the first for StMU.
On This Date: Dec. 16
•    StMU is 10-11 all-time in games played on Dec. 16.
•    The Rattlers are looking to snap a two-game losing streak on this date.
•    On Dec. 16, 2000, the Rattlers beat UCO by a score of 80-72 in Stephenville at the Tarleton St. Tournament.

vs Fort Lewis • Wednesday, December 17 • 11 a.m.
Notes & Connections
•    The all-time series between StMU and Fort Lewis is tied at 1-1.
•    Both StMU and FLC have faced Western New Mexico this season. The Rattlers won 80-76, while the Skyhawks split, winning 85-82 in the first meeting and falling 95-86 a week later.
•    This will be the eighth-straight non-conference game for FLC against a team from the Lone Star. They are 3-4 in those contests, dating back to last season.
•    Both JJ Walton (StMU) and Donald Bangham Jr. (FLC) played at Chipola Junior College, though not in the same season. Walton was there in 2022-23, while Bangham Jr. played there last year.
•    Massal Diouf for FLC spent two seasons in San Antonio, playing for UTSA in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
On This Date: Dec. 17
•    StMU is 11-10 all-time in games played on Dec. 17.
•    The Rattlers have won two of the last three on Dec. 17, last falling to Montana St.-Billings in 2023 (72-81).
•    Fort Lewis and StMU have never squared off on Dec. 17, nor has StMU played any RMAC teams.

River City Classic: The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team will play a pair of games in the River City Classic, hosted by Pitt State and Central Oklahoma in San Antonio. The Rattlers face Central Oklahoma at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Fort Lewis at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the NISD Sports Gym at 8400 N. Loop 1604 W (Dub Farris Athletic Complex). The tournament features 16 teams, playing two games each at two sites, with the second site being Bill Greehey Arena. Games are at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. each day.

All Good Things Come to an End: The streak to start the season came to an end on Thursday with a 73-67 setback at DBU, however the 7-0 start to the year is the second-best start in school history, trailing only the 8-0 start by the 1975-76 squad. It is the 10th time in school history the Rattlers have been 7-1 through eight games (1929-30, 1958-59, 1969-70, 1982-83, 1986-87, 1994-95, 1997-98, 2012-13, 2013-14).

Balanced Attack: Senior Sebastian Mendoza became the sixth different Rattler to lead the team in scoring in the last six games, scoring 14 points at DBU. Only senior Damani Claxton has led more than once, as he led the team in the first three games. Justin Britt, Michael Grant, Eddie McPhee and JJ Walton have all led the team once. Ten different Rattlers have scored in double digits at least once in the first eight contests.

Not Only A Stopper: Sebastian Mendoza scored the 500th point of his career at DBU, leading the team with 14 points. Mendoza now has 510 points, second-most among active players on the Rattlers' roster (Damani Claxton, 739). A total of 248 of his 510 points have come with the Gold & Blue (6.9 points/game).

Claxton's Impressive Line: Senior guard Damani Claxton leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 26th in the nation in free throw percentage at 90.9. Claxton is 30-for-33 at the charity stripe this season, and 145-for-176 (82.4%) for his StMU career, which ranks him 42nd among all active Division II players. That percentage places him eighth on the StMU career charts, and fifth in the school's DII era.

Stop, Thief: On Thursday at DBU, the Rattlers recorded more steals than the Patriots, 12-to-9, as the two teams combined for 42 turnovers. DBU entered the game leading the nation with 15.9 steals per game, and it was the first time all season the Patriots were not in double digits in thefts. It was also the first time an opponent had more steals than DBU. The Rattlers rank 32nd in the nation with 10.3 steals per contest.

Double Trouble: Eddie McPhee became the 50th Rattler in the Division II era to record a double-double with his game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Western New Mexico on Dec. 4. The 11 rebounds are a career-high for the senior, while the 17 points are one off his career-best of 18 from earlier this season against Regis.

They're Free: The 29 free throws made against Sul Ross State on Dec. 6 are a season-high, bettering the 25 the team sank on Dec. 4 against Western New Mexico. The Rattlers rank second in the Lone Star Conference with an 78.1 free throw percentage, ranking 23rd in Division II, quite a change from last year where the Rattlers ranked 285th out of 290 teams with a 62.7 percentage.

Ranked Seventh: In the December 9 NABC poll, the St. Mary's team climbed two more places to No. 7. It is the team's highest-ever ranking during the NCAA Division II era. In 1969-70, the Rattlers earned a high ranking of No. 4 and were inside the top-10 for the final eight weeks of the season at NAIA. The 1974-75 team also spent the final seven weeks in the top-10. 

Pouring It In: The 57 points scored by the Rattlers in the second half against Sul Ross State on Dec. 6 are the most scored in either half in the Bubba Meyer era. The previous high was 56 in the second half against the Lobos on Dec. 7, 2024.

Unblemished November: For the seventh time in school history, the Rattlers were undefeated in the month of November (minimum two games played). The 5-0 start matches the 1982-83 team for most wins in the 11th month of the year.

D-D-D-Defense: The Rattlers lead the league and rank 13th nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score only 62.4 points per game. Michigan Tech leads the nation, giving up only 58,7 points per contest. StMU ranked 40th a season ago, surrendering 68.7 points a night.

Triple Threat: Michael Grant became the first true freshman to hit three three-pointers in a game since Jaron Presley hit four on both Dec. 14, 2019 and Feb. 29, 2020 in his first season. Grant scored a career-best 15 points in the win over Sul Ross State on Wednesday, sinking 3-of-7 from the three-point line.

Preseason Honor: Senior Damani Claxton was honored before the first ball even tipped in the air, as he was named the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches, media, and sports information personnel. Claxton is averaging 18.0 points per game this season and has scored at least a dozen in all four contests. The guard is also a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and is one of 33 (min. 2.5 made/game) to remain unblemished on the year. 

Picked Second: St. Mary's was chosen to finish second in the 2025-26 Lone Star Conference race. DBU totaled 850 points and collected 42 of the possible 51 first-place votes to be the favorite in the poll. The Rattlers received 724 points and two first-place votes for second, while Lubbock Christian (4, 720) is third, St. Edward's (0, 669) and West Texas A&M (2, 654) round out the top five. It is the highest-ever predicted finish for the Rattlers since joining the LSC in 2019-20.