Men's Basketball Pushes Streak to Double Figures With Win in Kingsville

KINGSVILLE, Texas — A dominating performance at the free throw line on Saturday afternoon helped the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team win its 10th consecutive game, a 74-61 victory at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
The Rattlers won their 13th straight game in Lone Star Conference play to move to 16-4 overall and 13-1 in league action by shooting a season-best 84 percent from the free throw line (21-for-25). Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.), Eddie McPhee (Denver) and Lawyer Jones (Waco, Texas) were all perfect from the line, making six, four and one attempts, respectively, while Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) was 6-for-7.
 
Bofinger led the game with 26 points, making 10-of-13 from the field, and he led the game with seven rebounds. Claxton scored 12 and senior Sebastian Mendoza (Riverside, Calif.) chipped in 11 as the Rattlers led wire-to-wire. Claxton also recorded four steals and three assists, while McPhee led the team with four assists.
 
The 26 points by Bofinger mark the ninth time this season a Rattler has topped the 20-point milestone. Claxton has done so seven times, and Saturday was the second for Bofinger.
 
The Rattlers built a 20-point lead in the first half, 32-12, with 4:10 to play on a Malcolm Steadman (Union City, Calif.) three-pointer, and the Javelinas (9-12, 5-9) were never able to cut the deficit to single digits the remainder of the game.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville also did a great job at the free throw line, making 90 percent of its attempts (9-for-10). Zyon Little led the team with 12 points and three steals, while Isaiah Payne came off the bench to score 11 and Nate Lacewell led with six rebounds.
 
The Rattlers return to Bill Greehey Arena, hosting UT Tyler on Thursday evening and No. 8 DBU on Saturday afternoon. Both teams won at home on Saturday.