Big Second Half Leads St. Mary's Past Oklahoma Panhandle in Men's Basketball, 93-79
2/7/2010 9:34:34 AM
Curtis Mitchell scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, leading a furious St. Mary's University rally, as the Rattlers defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State University, 93-79, in Heartland Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena.
Oklahoma Panhandle State led most of the game, but the tide turned midway through the second half. Mitchell (Sr., Milwaukee) gave the Rattlers the lead for the first time since early in the game with a layup with 14:29 left to play. The teams battled back-and-forth for the next five minutes, before the Rattlers took control. Mitchell scored 11 points in a 4:05 span of the second half, keying a 15-4 run that turned a tie game into an 11-point Rattler lead at 74-63 with 7:12 left to play. OPSU cut the Rattler lead to just six points on a tip-in by Marcale Marshall with 4:41 left. But the Rattlers made 11-of-11 free throws over the final 4:10 to help preserve the lead.
Mitchell made 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range to lead the Rattlers in scoring. Darren Lee (Sr., Stockton, Calif.) hit on 4-of-6 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws to score 17 points and dished out a team-high 4 assists. Kevin Kotzur (Fr., La Vernia) scored 15 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. Marshall led the Aggies with 24 points. As a team, the Rattlers hit on 57.4 percent (27-47) of their shots from the field, including 66.7 percent (14-21) in the second half.
The guard combination of Marshall and Reggie Lassiter were too much for the Rattlers in the first half. The duo combined for 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, helping the Aggies to a 41-38 lead at the break. OPSU shot a sizzling 65.4 percent (17-26) from the field in the first period, while St. Mary's hit on 50.0 percent (13-26). The Rattlers made 55.6 percent (5-of-9) shots from three-point range to keep in the ball game.
With the win St. Mary's improved to 13-9 overall, 8-4 in Heartland Conference play. The Rattlers have won six of their last seven games. OPSU fell to 9-12, 5-6. The Rattlers will return to action on Thursday when they host St. Edward's University at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Bill Greehey Arena.