FRISCO, Texas — Going into the last quarterfinal of the day, it was a given that history was going to be made as neither the St. Mary's University nor the Western New Mexico University Men's Basketball teams had ever won a game at the Lone Star Conference Tournament, and the Rattlers etched their name in the history books, winning 94-80.
The Mustangs (22-7) scored the first basket of the game, but after that, it was all Rattlers (21-8) as senior
Damani Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.) was fouled on a three-point attempt on the team's first possession, and he sank all three free throw attempts. StMU never trailed again, pushing the lead to as many as 16 late in the second half.
Claxton ended the game with 19 points, one off the game-high honors of 20, which was scored by sophomore
Lawyer Jones (Waco, Texas). Jones scored his career-high on 8-of-12 shooting, and he added three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot off the bench.
Junior
Justin Britt (Goose Creek, S.C.) also scored in double figures with 16 points, doing most of his damage in the second half with 13. He and Claxton also led the team with four assists and three steals each. Senior forward
Olaverr Camacho (Barberena, Santa Rosa, Guatemala) missed a double-double by one basket and one board, scoring eight and leading the team with nine rebounds, and fellow senior
Eddie McPhee (Denver, Colo.) led the game with three blocked shots.
Andre Harris, an LSC First-Team All-Conference pick, led the Mustangs with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Carson Kelly scored 13, and both Cortaviaus Seales and Trenton Gordon each chipped in 12. Seales also led the game with six assists.
The Rattlers did a fantastic job of taking care of the ball, turning it over only five times, tying for the lowest total of the season, a stark contrast from the 13 miscues StMU had at WNMU two weeks ago.
St. Mary's also shot the ball extremely well, shooting 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field, 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from beyond the arc and 86.7 percent (26-for-30) from the free throw line. The 57.1 percent from the three-point line is the second-highest percentage of the season. On the flip side, the Rattlers' defense held the Mustangs to 31.3 percent (5-for-16) from the three-point line and without a triple in the first half.
The Rattlers collected 19 assists on 30 made baskets and improved to 18-3 on the year when having 10 or more in a game. The 19 is the third-highest total of the season.
St. Mary's faces top-seeded No. 23 DBU in the semifinals on Friday at 12 p.m. The Patriots reached the semifinals with their 88-67 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. StMU and DBU split the regular season series, with each team winning on its home court.
