SAN ANTONIO — The No. 13 St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team never trailed in the first game of the River City Holiday Classic at the Northside Sports Gym on Tuesday afternoon, but it wasn't always comfortable, as they staved off an outside-shooting team in Central Oklahoma, 72-62.
The Rattlers (8-1) used a 7-0 run midway through the first half to stretch the lead to 10, 21-11, with five of the seven points coming from senior
Freddie Cooper (Chesterfield, Mo.), and the other a layup by
JJ Walton (Tampa, Fla.). The Bronchos (7-6) made a pair of three-pointers to cut the deficit to four, but the Rattlers pushed the advantage back to 10 at the break.
Senior guard
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half in building the Rattlers' lead, as he led all scorers at halftime.
Junior
Justin Britt (Goose Creek, S.C.) was the hot hand in the second half, scoring 16 of his game-high 25 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. He also added a career-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Rattler.
Senior
Eddie McPhee (Denver) led the game with five assists, while Cooper blocked a team-high two shots, and Claxton had two of the team's seven steals.
UCO's Matthew Willenborg, who entered the game leading the nation in field goals made and second in rebounds, was held to 7-of-17 shooting by the StMU defense and seven rebounds. He was 3-of-10 from behind the arc to lead the Bronchos with 19 points, three blocks and three steals.
St. Mary's faces Fort Lewis on the second day of the River City Holiday Classic. The Skyhawks dropped an 87-61 decision to St. Edward's on Tuesday morning.
