CANYON, Texas — It took an extra 10 minutes, but the No. 20 West Texas A&M Men's Basketball team was able to edge out No. 23 St. Mary's University on Saturday in double overtime, 84-81.
The Rattlers (11-4, 4-3 LSC) were whistled for twice as many fouls as the Buffs (14-3, 6-1 LSC), leading to WT scoring 24 points at the free throw line, making more than the Rattlers attempted (14-for-19). The game was the third in the last four games to go overtime for the Buffaloes.
The St. Mary's defense held one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation to 19.5 percent from the arc (8-41). The Buffs entered the game ranked 45th in NCAA Division II with a 36.6 percentage.
Senior
Olaverr Camacho (Barberena, Santa Rosa, Guatemala) posted his second double-double despite fouling out at the end of regulation, scoring 14 points and tying for game-high honors with 10 rebounds.
Fellow senior
Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield, Texas) moved back into the starting lineup and responded with the first double-double of his career with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. He doubled his previous season high on the boards and bettered his career-best of eight from last season at DBU (Jan. 9).
Eddie McPhee, a senior from Denver, Colo., tied his career high in scoring, posting 18 points, and he missed a double-double by one rebound, bringing down nine in a team-high 41 minutes of action.
Senior
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) led the team in scoring with 20 points, hitting the 20-point milestone for the fifth time this season and the 15th time in his St. Mary's career, while sophomore
Lawyer Jones (Waco, Texas) was the only bench player to score, chipping in eight points and leading the team with two steals.
The game was tied 10 times and saw 10 lead changes, although the Rattlers led for almost 39 minutes of the 50-minute game. The Buffs led for just under six minutes, including at the final buzzer.
Fontaine Williams led the game with 22 points, as a quartet of Buffs scored in double digits. He and Brock Mishak also led the team with seven rebounds each, and Mishak collected nine of WT's 12 assists on the day.
St. Mary's out-rebounded West Texas A&M 47-to-44, though the Buffs tallied more offensive rebounds, 15-to-12. It is only the second time this season the Rattlers have had fewer o-boards than the opposition (at DBU).
Despite playing only seven conference games, the Rattlers will rematch with DBU on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Patriots are the hottest team in the league, having won 11 straight games, and are the only remaining undefeated squad in LSC action after the Rattlers knocked off Eastern New Mexico on Thursday.
