Men's Basketball Posts 50-Point Second Half in Comeback in Portales

PORTALES, N.M. — The St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team scored the game's final nine points, capping off a 50-point second half in a 77-72 victory at Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.
 
Junior Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including a 42-second stretch where he scored seven of the team's nine points, finding senior Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) for a layup on the other basket, and stole the ball to cut the Greyhounds (18-9, 13-8) from eight to one, with 7:51 remaining. He was 6-for-7 at the free throw line and added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Senior Sebastian Mendoza (Riverside, Calif.) tied his season-high, scoring 13, while junior Eman Lawal (Mississauga, Ontario) came off the bench to score 12, and senior Franklin Agu (London, England) added his fourth double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Agu also led the team with three assists while junior Malcolm Steadman (Union City, Calif.) blocked two shots for the Rattlers (19-7, 16-4).
 
ENMU led by as many as 13 in the first half, building a 32-19 lead with 2:52 to play. StMU closed the half on a mini 5-0 run to cut the deficit to eight, 35-27. Mario Whitley scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the first half to help the Greyhounds build the lead. Both Cougar Downing and Treyvon Byrd added 14 points each, while Byrd led the team with eight rebounds.
 
The Rattlers posted a +15-rebound margin in the game, crashing the glass for 22 on offense. All 18 players who saw action in the game for both teams grabbed at least one rebound, and 17 of the 18 scored two or more points. 
 
The win puts the Rattlers in a tie for third place in the Lone Star standings with two games remaining. If the standings hold, the Rattlers will earn the four-seed at the tournament, losing the tiebreaker with Midwestern State.
 
St. Mary's plays St. Edward's twice in the final week, heading to Austin on Wednesday evening and then hosting the second half of the Battle of the Saints on Saturday at 3 p.m. for Senior Day.