GOLDEN, Colo. – A strong second half by the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball couldn't quite overcome a slow start to the game as the Rattlers dropped a 75-63 decision to MSU Denver on Saturday night at Lockridge Arena on the campus of Colorado School of Mines.
The Rattlers (0-2) outscored the Roadrunners (1-1) 40-to-38 in the second half, but MSUD built a 37-to-23 edge in the first stanza for the victory.
St. Mary's was led by junior transfer
Paora Winitana (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand) with 11 points and he narrowly missed his first double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Eight of those nine came on the offensive end of the floor as the Rattlers amassed 17 o-boards to out-rebound the Roadrunners 38-to-26.
Four other players scored eight points each as
Lawyer Jones (Waco, Texas),
Amare Banks (Atlanta) and
Raken Vargas (Houston) hit eight in starting roles, while
Liam Switzer (Noosaville, Australia) came off the bench to score eight. Two others,
KD Davis (Fort Worth, Texas) and
Jai Chisolm (Summerville S.C.) each added seven.
Jones also led the team with four steals, while Winitana had a team-best two assists and Chisolm had the only block of the night for the Rattlers.
The Rattlers scored 11 of the first 13 points of the second half to cut the deficit to five, 39-34, with 14:20 remaining in the game, but they were unable to get any closer. Five different Rattlers scored during the run.
St. Mary's remains on the road, squaring off with rival Texas A&M-Kingsville in a non-conference game on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Steinke Physical Education Center.
