San Antonio – St. Mary’s University shot a sizzling 60.5 percent from the field and outrebounded Oklahoma Panhandle State University by a 37-17 margin as the Rattlers rolled past the Aggies, 77-50, in Heartland Conference men’s basketball action Thursday night at Bill Greehey Arena. In the women’s game Rachel Jones led the 16th-ranked Rattlers to a 60-49 victory.

The men’s game was a tight affair for the first 15 minutes. But with 5:33 left in the first half Darren Lee (Jr., Stockton, Calif.) started a 19-3 run that ended the first half, turning a 23-22 Aggie lead into a 41-26 Rattler advantage at the break. The Rattlers were never challenged in the second half, and pulled away late.

Curtis Mitchell (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) led the Rattlers with 17 points, while Nick Morey (Sr., Belpre, Ohio) had 15 points and six rebounds in just 22 minutes. Jeff Campbell (Fr., Allen) scored 10 points and dished out seven assists. As a team the Rattlers shot 60.5 percent (26-43) from the field, including 53.8 percent (7-13) from three-point range.

With the win the Rattlers are now 12-10 overall and 7-4 in Heartland Conference play. OPSU fell to 4-18, 1-10. St. Mary’s will return to action on Saturday when they host the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in a women’s/men’s doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. with the women’s game. The men will follow at 4:30 p.m.

In the women’s game Jones (Sr., Little Rock, Ark.) was a near one-woman wrecking crew. Jones lit up the Aggies to the tune of 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, just missing out on a triple-double. Mallory Moeller (So., Seguin) had 12 points and six rebounds. As a team the Rattlers shot 40.7 percent (22-54) from the field, while holding the Aggies to just 35.7 percent (15-42).

After OPSU started the game by taking a 2-0 lead on a Lauren Cherry layup, the Rattlers took control and never trailed again. St. Mary’s quickly expanded their lead to double digits in the second half and led by as much as 18 points before settling for the final margin.

St. Mary’s improved to 20-2 overall and 9-0 in Heartland Conference play. The Rattlers have won nine straight games for the second time this season. OPSU fell to 3-19, 1-8.

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