San Antonio – Curtis Mitchell scored a game-high 23 points and Kevin Kotzur set a school record for blocks in a game, but it wasn’t enough as St. Mary’s University fell to Texas A&M University-Commerce in men’s basketball action Friday night at Bill Greehey Arena. The Rattler women’s basketball team also dropped a non-conference game at West Texas A&M University, 70-49.

Both Mitchell (Sr., Milwaukee) and Kotzur (Fr., La Vernia, Texas) were dominant, but the duo were the only Rattlers to score in double figures; and they accounted for more than half of the Rattlers 59 points. Mitchell hit on 8-of-18 shots from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range to score his highest total as a Rattler. Kotzur made 5-of-8 shots to pick up 12 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked 8 shots. The 8 blocks set a new school single-game record.

Despite a slow start, the Rattlers trailed just 33-31 at the half against the Lions. However, TAMUC slowly started to pull away in the second half. A 13-0 run by the Lions midway through the second half, turned a three-point game into a decisive 52-36 score. The Rattlers never cut the lead to single digits again in the game.

As a team, the Rattlers hit on 40.7 percent (22-54) of their shots from the field, a season low. They committed 20 turnovers for the second straight game and were outrebounded by the Lions, 30-29. TAMUC made 56.1 percent of their shots (23-41) and 72.7 percent (24-33) of their free throws in the win.

With the loss, the Rattlers are now 2-3 this season, while Texas A&M-Commerce improved to 3-0. St. Mary’s will wrap up play at the River City Classic Basketball Tournament against Midwestern State University on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In the first game of the day on Friday, Midwestern State defeated Langston University 74-56.

For the women, West Texas A&M took a big early lead and never let up in the 21-point lead. The first three minutes were a tight, back-and forth affair, with St. Mary’s taking an 8-7 lead on a layup by  with 17:26 left in the first half. But, the Buffaloes went on a 12-0 run to take a double-digit lead at 19-8 with 11:53 left in the period and the Rattlers only cut the lead to single digits twice the rest of the way. 

Chastity Noble (Sr., El Paso, Texas) and Kristen Williams (Jr., Kansas City) each led the Rattlers with 13 points, while Liz Boyd (Fr., San Antonio) came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points. As a team, the Rattlers shot 48.8 percent (20-41) from the field, but committed a season-high 32 turnovers in the loss.

With the loss, the Rattlers fell to 3-2 this season, while West Texas A&M improved to 4-0. St. Mary’s will face Angelo State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Canyon.

Men’s Basketball Box Score
Texas A&M-Commerce 73, St. Mary’s (Texas) 59

Women’s Basketball Box Score
West Texas A&M 70, St. Mary’s (Texas) 49

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