Men's Basketball Looks to Get Back to Winning Ways

This Week in Rattlers Basketball
Oklahoma Christian • Thursday, February 13 • 7:30 p.m. 
Oklahoma Christian (7-15, 4-13)
Head Coach: Kendre Talley (53-96)
at #25 St. Mary's (17-5, 14-2)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (29-21)
Broadcast: FloCollege • Play-by-Play: Rob Shadow

Cameron • Saturday, February 15 • 3 p.m.
Cameron (8-15, 5-12)
Head Coach: Kevin O'Connor (30-51)
at #25 St. Mary's (17-5, 14-2)
Head Coach: Bubba Meyer (29-21)
Broadcast: FloCollege • Play-by-Play: Rob Shadow

 

Winding Down: St. Mary's wraps up a four-game home stretch before heading out for three of its final four of the regular season on the road. The Rattlers host Oklahoma Christian on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Cameron on Saturday at 3 p.m. 

History with Oklahoma Christian: The Rattlers improved to 13-7 all-time against the Eagles back on Jan. 18 with a 78-64 victory. StMU has won two straight at home against OC and is 7-2 all-time. 

Scouting the Eagles: Oklahoma Christian is 7-15 overall and 4-13 in LSC play. The Eagles split last season, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville 76-67 before falling to Texas A&M International 76-68. Keyondre Young leads a trio of Eagles in double figure scoring, averaging 14.4 per game, while Marco Foster is right behind him with 14.1 per night on the strength of a league-leading 3.09 three-pointers per game. Young also leads the team with 5.0 rebounds. Javon Grant ranks third in the LSC with 4.5 assists and OC is third in the conference with 15.5 free throws made per game.

History with Cameron: St. Mary's is now 8-3 all-time in the series with Cameron after winning 91-79 back on Jan. 16 in Lawton. The Rattlers are 3-1 at home against the Aggies, but Cameron won the last game, 92-82 on Dec. 12, 2023.

Scouting the Aggies: Cameron sports a record of 8-15 overall with a 5-12 mark in league action. They split last week, beating the Dustdevils by 11 before dropping an 11-point contest to the Javelinas and the Aggies play at St. Edward's on Thursday before facing StMU. Four Aggies average double figures in scoring, led by Aaron Jacob with 14.9. Jaxon Ingram averages close to a double double with 10.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Reggie Prudhomme leads the Lone Star and ranks 14th nationally with 5.6 assists, while Ingram ranks second behind Lachlan Bofinger with his 9.5 boards. 

Holding Steady: For the second-straight week, the Rattlers are ranked No. 25 in the NABC poll. Last week was the first time since the 2013 final rankings the Rattlers appeared in the poll. In the D2CSC South Central Region poll the Rattlers dropped one spot to No. 4, as Lubbock Christian jumped ahead of them.

Getting the W's: With six games remaining in the regular season, the Rattlers have already won 17 games, the most since the 2014-15 team won 20 and advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional. The St. Mary's record for wins in a single season is 28 by the 1988-89 team that won the NAIA National Championship with a 28-5 record.

Closing In: With one more win in Lone Star Conference play, St. Mary's can tie the school single season record for most conference wins at 15. Both the 1996-97 (15-1) and 2014-15 (15-5) teams share the record with 15 league victories.

On Pace: St. Mary's is averaging 39.68 rebounds per game, which would break the school's Division II era single-season record, which is currently held by the 2008-09 team which averaged 38.46 rebounds per game. The overall school record is 48.65 per night by the 1976-77 team.

January=Undefeated: The win over Texas A&M International on Thursday gave the Rattlers a perfect 9-0 record in January, making them only the seventh team in 92 years to post an undefeated mark in the first month of the calendar year. Both the 1972-73 and 1974-75 teams were 9-0, while the 1983-84 and 1984-85 clubs were 8-0, and the 1969-70 team was 6-0. The only Division II era team to go undefeated was the 2003-04 team, which was 8-0.

Going Streaking: The 14 game winning-streak by the Rattlers in Lone Star Conference play is the longest single-season conference winning streak in St. Mary's history, bettering the 12-straight the 1996-97 team won en route to the Heart of Texas Conference Championship. 

Double Trouble: Lachlan Bofinger recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 17 points and 17 rebounds in the double overtime win against UT Tyler last Thursday. Bofinger leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 13th nationally with his 10 this season. His 24 career double-doubles also rank sixth among active Division II players, while his 9.3 rebounds per game are second among active players. 

Claxton Collects: Damani Claxton has scored in double figures in 21 of 22 games this season, and in 18 straight. He ranks third in the Lone Star Conference with 17.2 points per game. He also ranks ninth in the league, connecting on 50.2 percent of his shots, which is the top marks among guards in the Lone Star Conference.

Party Time! Excellent!: Since turning the calendar to 2025, Wayne Wiggins has stepped up his game. In the 12 contests, Wiggins is averaging 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. The Mansfield, Texas native has provided a spark off the bench, scoring in double figures in seven of the 12 games, including a career-best 17 against #6 DBU on Saturday. Wiggins is currently on a seven-game streak with at least one three-pointer and has had multiple assists in four of the last five games.

Tops in the LSC: Lachlan Bofinger leads the Lone Star Conference in both double-doubles (10), rebounds per game (10.0) and defensive rebounds (6.77). He also ranks second in offensive rebounds per game (3.18), and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.90) and field goal percentage (52.0). Damani Claxton ranks third in scoring (17.2) and seventh in free throw percentage (77.3). The Rattlers lead the league and rank 8th nationally with 14.82 offensive rebounds per game and 29th nationally in total rebounds (39.68). The club also ranks ninth in the nation with 25.0 free throw attempts per game.

It's An Honor x 3: Junior guard Damani Claxton was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week after the team's wins over WNMU and SRS, while Lachlan Bofinger earned Offensive Player of the Week after the team defeated both Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International to start 2025, and Defensive honors after the team swept the Oklahoma road trip.

Playing Extra: After losing four straight games in overtime during the previous two seasons, St. Mary's is a perfect 4-0 in 2024-25 when playing an extra period (or two). The Rattlers are now 45-40 all-time in overtime games and 6-2 in double OT contests.