This Week in Rattlers Basketball
Game #27 • Home Game #16 • St. Edward's • Thursday, February 26 • 7:30 p.m.
Notes & Connections
• Thursday marks the 176th meeting between the two schools, the longest running rivalry for StMU. The Rattlers have a 2:1 winning record in Bill Greehey Arena.
• St. Edward's has won the last five games between the two, including a 73-71 heartbreaker on Feb. 9. The two teams have been separated by one possession (1-3 points) 32 times in the storied history, including two of the last three meetings.
• St. Ed's guard Luke Price attended Reagan HS in San Antonio.
• The Hilltoppers lead the league in assists/game (17.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66), while the Rattlers lead in scoring defense (65.1).
• The two schools are separated by only 80 miles, the second shortest distance in the LSC after DBU and UT Dallas.
On This Date: Feb. 26
• StMU is 11-6 all-time in games played on Feb. 26 with a 7-2 record at home.
• The Rattlers are 1-2 on the 26th against St. Edward's, including an 80-73 setback last season.
• StMU is 0-2 on this date in LSC action.
Game #28 • Road Game #10 • at Cameron • Saturday, February 28 • 3 p.m.
Notes & Connections
• The Rattlers have 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.
• The game was rescheduled from Jan. 23, after winter weather made traveling conditions treacherous for the Rattlers.
• The Aggies have been eliminated from postseason contention, while the Rattlers will be one of the eight teams in the LSC Tournament.
• St. Mary's is undefeated in Lawton, winning all three games since joining the Lone Star Conference in 2019-2020.
On This Date: Feb. 28
• StMU is 10-7 all-time in games played on Feb. 28 with a 4-4 mark on the road.
• The Rattlers and Aggies have never met on this date.
• StMU has won the last three on Feb. 28, but hasn't played since 2015.
Final Week: St. Mary's Men's Basketball has two games remaining in the regular season, and has clinched a spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, which begins March 5 in Frisco, Texas. The Rattlers will rematch with rival St. Edward's on Thursday before heading to Cameron for the rescheduled contest from Jan. 23.
Hitting 50: Head Coach Bubba Meyer won his 50th game on Thursday with the team's 80-73 win at Sul Ross State. Meyer is in his third season as head coach with a 50-35 overall record. This season's team is currently tied for fifth for the most home wins with 13 and can match the 1982-83 team, that his father coached, for fourth on the list with 14 victories. The 1994-95 team was 16-1 for the record for home wins.
Getting Close: Senior Damani Claxton is now only seven points shy of the 1,000-point milestone and needs 101 to hit the mark as a Rattler. Claxton has scored 20 or more points seven times this season and 17 times in his two years with the Rattlers.
A Rarity: In the game in Alpine on Thursday night, both teams made more shots at the free throw line than in the field. St. Mary's was 28-for-36 at the charity stripe and 23-for-46 from the field, while the Lobos were 22-for-29 at the line and 21-for-45 from the floor. The two teams were whistled for 50 fouls. It is the first time this season where both teams recorded more makes at the line, though it is the fourth time this season the Rattlers have done so.
Perfection: Damani Claxton was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line in the game on Saturday at Western New Mexico, becoming the 15th player in school history to not miss at the line (minimum 10 attempts), and the first since Caleb Jordan on Dec. 19, 2018 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is also the fifth player in the Lone Star Conference this season to be perfect at the charity stripe with 10 or more attempts.
Quite a Handful: Senior Sebastian Mendoza became the first Rattler this season to make five three-pointers in a game, going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the win over UT Permian Basin on Thursday. Mendoza scored a season-high 17 points in the lopsided win. He is the only player in the Lone Star Conference to have made all five attempts.
Tough Defense: The Rattlers are allowing opponents to score only 63.96 points per game this season. That average would rank 6th on the St. Mary's single-season list. The 2000-01 team holds the record for lowest opponent scoring average at 62.14 points per game. The .305 opponent three-point field-goal percentage defense also would rank third in school history, and the record is .299 by the 1999-00 squad.
Balanced Attack: St. Mary's has had nine different players either lead or tie for the lead in scoring this season. Damani Claxton has led 12 times, while Justin Britt has led five times, Wayne Wiggins has led in three games, and Olaverr Camacho has led twice. Michael Grant, Lawyer Jones, Eddie McPhee, Sebastian Mendoza, and JJ Walton have all led once.
Making them Count: St. Mary's has shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line in 12 games this season, and is connecting at a 75.6 percent clip for the season. That percentage ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 37th in the nation, quite a change from last season's squad that shot only 62.7 percent and ranked 285th out of 290 teams in Division II. The 75.6 percent ranks fourth in school history and second in the NCAA Division II era (2000-present) behind the 2021-22 team that shot 75.8 percent.
Take Two, They're Free: A big reason for the change in free throw percentage are seniors Damani Claxton and Eddie McPhee. Claxton is second the Lone Star and ranks 47th nationally with his 86.8 percent. McPhee has made 50 of 56 attempts this season for 89.3 percent, but doesn't meet the 2.5 makes minimum to appear in the league stats. Newcomer Justin Britt also ranks 12th in the LSC with a 78.8 percentage.
First Off the Bench: Junior JJ Walton and sophomore Lawyer Jones have been the first player off the bench 12 times this season, while Wayne Wiggins has come off the bench first in 10 games. Several times two of the three, or all three have entered the game at the same point.
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.
Early Start Important: St. Mary's is 17-2 this season when leading at halftime, and only 1-5 when entering the locker room trailing at the break. The Rattlers are also 16-5 when out-rebounding the opponent and 2-2 when giving up more boards than they collect.
LSC Leading: St. Mary's leads the Lone Star Conference in scoring defense (65.1), is second in free throw percentage (75.6) and offensive rebounds per game (13.19), and third in blocked shots (3.8), and rebound margin (5.7).
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 85 in the Meyer era and 251 consecutive, dating back to Jan. 14, 2017 in an overtime loss to Texas A&M International.
