FRISCO, Texas — The St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team couldn't hold the lead against St. Edward's in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference Championship, dropping an 84-74 decision late on Friday.
The Rattlers (19-10) led 41-32 at halftime, but a lid went on the basket in the second half, as they shot only 27.8 percent from the field, while the Hilltoppers (21-11) shot 69 percent after the break to flip the script and win by 10.
Senior forward
Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) did everything he could to keep the Rattlers going, posting his 12th double-double of the year with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. He also added two assists and two steals.
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.), who was named the league's Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday, added 17 points with four assists and three steals, and junior
Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield, Texas) came off the bench to score 11.
The Rattlers led the majority of the first half, but the Hilltoppers came out and scored 11 of the first 13 points of the second half to erase the nine-point lead and tie the score 43-43 with 14:43 remaining. They took the lead 2:10 later, on a Gavino Ramos driving layup and never relinquished it, pushing the lead out to 15 several times late.
St. Mary's now has to wait until Sunday to see if the season will continue. St. Edward's will face top-seeded DBU in the semifinals, while Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M square off on the other side of the bracket.
