Men's Basketball Faces Fourth-Straight Ranked Foe

This Week in Rattlers Basketball
Game #16 • Home Game #11 • #RV DBU • Thursday, January 15 • 7:30 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    Thursday will be the second contest this season against DBU, and the third time DBU has played in San Antonio this year as they were in the River City Holiday Classic with the Rattlers.
•    Both teams are undefeated against common opponents, as DBU is 3-0 against Sul Ross State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Western New Mexico, while the Rattlers are 4-0.
•    DBU jumped back into the national ranking this week at No. 25, while the Rattlers dropped into the receiving votes section.
•    In the first meeting, Drew Calderon led all players with 20 points, while StMU was led by Sebastian Mendoza with 14.
•    DBU has the longest active winning streak in the LSC at 11 straight, and they are the only undefeated team remaining in league play.

On This Date: Jan. 15
•    StMU is 17-9 in games played on Jan. 15, including a 14-4 record at home.
•    The Rattlers and Patriots have never played on this date, though StMU is 4-5 against current LSC teams.
•    StMU has lost two of the last three games on Jan. 15.

Game #17 • Home Game #12 • UT Tyler • Saturday, January 17 • 3 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    UT Tyler is 3-2, while St. Mary's is 6-0 against common opponents in 2025-26. The Patriots have defeated Colorado School of Mines, Regis and Sul Ross State, and have lost to Texas A&M-Kingsville and Western New Mexico, while StMU beat all five times, including SRS twice.
•    Saturday marks the 10th meeting between the teams with the Rattlers holding a 6-3 advantage, including a 3-1 mark inside Bill Greehey Arena.
•    Both head coaches are in their third seasons at their respective schools. Bubba Meyer is 43-31 at St. Mary's, while Tim Moser is 19-50 at UT Tyler.
•    UT Tyler leads the LSC in rebound margin (10.2) and rebounds per game (40.31), while the Rattlers lead in offensive rebounds (15.1) and scoring defense (65.8).

On This Date: Jan. 17

•    StMU is 12-11 in games played on Jan. 17 with a 7-3 record at home.
•    The Rattlers and Patriots have never played on Jan. 17, though three of the last four games have come against St. Edward's and five times total.

STORYLINES
Home Again: The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Bill Greehey Arena where they are 9-1 this season to host No. 25 DBU in a rematch on Thursday and UT Tyler on Saturday. The DBU Patriots defeated StMU 73-67 on Dec. 11 and have won 11 straight games.

It's a First: For the first time in the DII era at St. Mary's, the Rattlers are playing four straight nationally-ranked opponents. In 2016-17, St. Mary's had a four-game stretch with three appearing in the top-25. This season, the Rattlers lost to then-No. 8 Lubbock Christian (66-58), defeated then-No. 19 Eastern New Mexico (63-54) and dropped a double overtime heartbreaker at then-No. 20 West Texas A&M (84-81). This week, St. Mary's hosts No. 25 DBU at 7:30 on Thursday.

Double Trouble: Senior Olaverr Camacho (Nacho) posted the first two double-doubles of his StMU career on last week's road trip with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the win at ENMU, and 14 points and 10 rebounds in the double overtime loss at WT, though Camacho didn't play in overtime period, fouling out at the end of regulation. Camacho has now been in double figures in rebounds in the last three games, climbing to seventh in the LSC with 6.9 boards a game.

Playing Extra: The Rattlers played their first overtime game in 2025-26 with an 84-81 double overtime loss at #20 West Texas A&M on Saturday. St. Mary's is now 45-42 all-time in overtime games, and 6-3 in games that go double overtime in school history. A season ago, the team tied the school record with five overtime contests, joining the 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2016-17 teams.

Wiggins Finding a Way: Senior guard Wayne Wiggins recorded his first career double-double at West Texas A&M with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Wiggins has now scored in double figures in three of the last four games, increasing his scoring from 6.6 to 8.2 points per game. He also is in the midst of an eight-game streak with at least one steal, including a career-high four at Eastern New Mexico on Thursday.

Early Start Important: St. Mary's is 10-1 this season when leading at halftime, and only 1-3 when entering the locker room trailing at the break. The Rattlers are also 10-2 when out-rebounding the opponent and 1-2 when giving up more boards than they collect. 

Non-Conference Wrap-up: St. Mary's finished the non-conference season with a 7-1 record after the 74-56 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 20. It is the most non-conference wins since the 2018-19 team was 8-4 in the preseason.

Crashing the Boards: The 52 rebounds against Lubbock Christian are the most recorded by the Rattlers this season. It ties for the third-highest total in the Lone Star Conference this year and the most for the Rattlers since Feb. 6, 2025 when the team brought down 54 in the double overtime win over UT Tyler.

The Watch Is On: Against West Texas A&M, senior Damani Claxton scored both the 850th point of his career and his 750th point in the Gold & Blue. He is now only 142 points shy of the 1,000-point milestone and needs 236 to hit the mark as a Rattler. 

Beyond The Arc: Against Fort Lewis, the Rattlers attempted 39 three-pointers, tying for the second-most in a single game in school history. On Dec. 4, 2021 against Huston-Tillotson the team took 40 triples for the school record, while on Feb. 20, 2020 against St. Edward's and Nov. 13, 2021 against Regis the team tried 39 from beyond the arc to tie for second on the list. 

LSC Leading: St. Mary's leads the Lone Star Conference in offensive rebounds per game (15.13) and scoring defense (65.8). The 75.2 free throw percentage, which is third in the LSC and 44th nationally would rank third in single season history behind the 79.1 percent by the 1952-53 team. The school's Division II era record is 75.8 percent by the 2021-22 squad.

Pouring It In: The 57 points scored by the Rattlers in the second half against Sul Ross State on Dec. 6 are the most scored in either half in the Bubba Meyer era. The previous high was 56 in the second half against the Lobos on Dec. 7, 2024.

Every Game: St. Mary's has hit at least one three-pointer in every game that Bubba Meyer has been the head coach. The streak is 74 in the Meyer era and 240 consecutive, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017 in an overtime loss to Texas A&M International. 

Preseason Honor: Senior Damani Claxton was honored before the first ball even tipped in the air, as he was named the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches, media, and sports information personnel. Claxton is averaging 18.0 points per game this season and has scored at least a dozen in all four contests. The guard is also a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and is one of 33 (min. 2.5 made/game) to remain unblemished on the year.