Men's Basketball Takes to the Road for Back-to-Back Games

This Week in Rattlers Basketball
Game #18 • Road Game #4 • at Oklahoma Christian • Thursday, January 22 • 5 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    Thursday marks the 22nd meeting in the all-time series that started in 2014, and the Rattlers have a 2-1 advantage, 14-7.
•    OC guard Josh Aiken prepped at San Antonio Christian HS.
•    Both head coaches are leading their alma maters, as Bubba Meyer graduated from StMU in 2001, and Kendre Talley graduated from OC in 2014.
•    The Rattlers and Eagles did not face any common non-conference opponents, but OC is 2-5 against common league foes, while StMU is 6-2. 
•    Each team has a New York product, as StMU features Damani Claxton from the Bronx, while OC senior Elijah Bailey hails from Brooklyn.
•    OC is the third team this season the Rattlers have faced from the Sooner State (Southeastern Okla., Central Oklahoma) and they are 2-0.
On This Date: Jan. 22
•    StMU is 15-4 on Jan. 22 and has won the last six games.
•    The Rattlers and Eagles have never played on 1/22, but StMU is 3-0 against Oklahoma teams.
•    StMU is 4-1 against current LSC teams on the 22nd.

Game #19 • Road Game #5 • at Cameron • Friday, January 23 • 5 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    The Rattlers have also doubled up the Aggies in wins, leading 8-4 in the series that started in 1976.
•    Both meetings last season between the teams went overtime, with each winning the road game.
•    Both teams defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State in the non-conference season. The Aggies won 111-109, while the Rattlers won 74-64.
•    Cameron is 1-5 against common LSC opponents this season, while the Rattlers are 5-2 (ENMU, LCU, SRS, TAMUK, WT, WNMU).
•    Olaverr Camacho recorded a career-best 14 rebounds at Cameron on Feb. 22, 2024 while playing for Texas A&M International.
•    Eddie McPhee tied his career high with six assists in last year's home loss to the Aggies.
•    StMU is 2-0 against Oklahoma teams, while CU is 3-4 against teams from Texas this season.

STORYLINES

Back to Back: The St. Mary's Men's Basketball team will play on back-to-back nights after the schedule for the week was altered due to impending weather in Oklahoma. The Rattlers will play at Oklahoma Christian on Thursday at 5 p.m., while they'll square off at Cameron 24 hours later.

Francis Watch List: For the first time in St. Mary's history, a Rattler has made the top-100 Watch List for the prestigious Bevo Francis Award, presented to the top player in small college athletics, as senior guard Damani Claxton appears on the list. The award is in its ninth season. Amondo Miller and Antonio Pusateri from Lubbock Christian, and Fontaine Williams from West Texas A&M are also among the top 100.

Down to the Wire: Both games last week were decided on the final possession, and at the free throw line. Against DBU, senior Wayne Wiggins sank a pair with 3.4 seconds left to give the Rattlers a 66-64 victory, while UT Tyler's Sam Phipps hit one FT with 2.4 ticks remaining for the 61-60 Patriots win. The Rattlers are 18-18 in last second wins & losses since joining Division II.

It's a First: For the first time in the DII era at St. Mary's, the Rattlers played 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) before wrapping up with a last-second win over DBU (66-64).

Double Trouble: Senior Olaverr Camacho (Nacho) recorded three-straight double-doubles with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the win at ENMU, 14 points and 10 rebounds in the double overtime loss at WT, and 11 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over DBU. Camacho currently ranks second in the league and 18th in the nation with 3.65 offensive rebounds per game, and is seventh overall with 7.0 total boards a contest.

Handling the Rock: True freshman Raken Vargas continues to see increased time on the court, and one of the main reasons is how he handles the basketball. Vargas has not turned the ball over in his last eight games, playing the last 63:39 without a turnover. In his 106:27, Vargas has three miscues, dishing out seven assists.

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 scored in double figures in four of the last six games, increasing his scoring from 6.6 to 8.5 points per game. Wiggins also has nailed at least one three-pointer in those six contests.

Early Start Important: St. Mary's is 11-2 this season when leading at halftime, and only 1-3 when entering the locker room trailing at the break. The Rattlers are also 10-3 when out-rebounding the opponent and 2-2 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 115 points shy of the 1,000-point milestone and needs 209 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 (14.47), scoring defense (65.4), and blocked shots per game (3.9). The 74.9 free throw percentage, which is third in the LSC and 52nd 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 76 in the Meyer era and 242 consecutive, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017 in an overtime loss to Texas A&M International.