St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX 8-2,2-1 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC 6-5,3-0 RMAC

St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX

8-2,2-1 Lone Star

Final

Dec. 17, 2025

Fort Lewis FLC

6-5,3-0 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX	23	45	68
Fort Lewis FLC	37	44	81

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Jaxon Smith (0) looks to the student section after knocking down a triple against the Cowboys in Whalen Gymnasium (Dec. 9, 2025)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/17/2025 12:34:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

Smith, Skyhawks use lights-out shooting to upset No. 13 St. Mary’s for first top-25 win

Fort Lewis shoots season-high 61 percent from the field

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Fort Lewis (6-5, 4-0 RMAC) bounced back dominantly in the Skyhawks' final game of the 2025 River City Holiday Classic, sprinting out to a 14-point lead late in the first half before staving off the No. 13 nationally ranked Rattlers en route to an 81-68 victory over St. Mary's (8-2, 2-1 LSC) and the program's first top-25 win of the season.

Fort Lewis shot a season-high 61.2 percent (30-49) across the game, including a commanding 68 percent (17-25) in the second half, to close out its non-conference and in-region schedule at 3-5 overall with a single top-25 victory.

St. Mary's led by four points twice in the early going, but after an 18-18 stalemate with 6:55 left to play in the first half, Jaxon Smith buried a trey from about five feet beyond the left wing to go up 21-18, and the Skyhawks never looked back.

Smith was lights-out from beyond the arc, hitting on 5-of-8 attempts from distance and going 8-for-12 from the floor en route to a game-high 25 points. Smith also pulled down four rebounds, made one assist, and went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in his third 20+ point performance of the season. Stewart Erhart was the only other Skyhawk in double figures, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with three assists while matching Keither Florence, who finished with eight points, for a team-high seven rebounds. Yorgio Golesis poured in eight points, a team-high two steals, and a season-high eight assists.

St. Mary's won the turnover battle by a +5 margin, 16-11, and even led with 18 points off turnovers and 22 second-chance points on 19 offensive rebounds. However, the top-ranked Rattlers shot just 31.8 percent (21-66) from the floor, hanging tough with 10 treys in 39 attempts (25.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Senior Damani Claxton, currently the Lone Star Conference's 12^th-leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, led St. Mary's with a team-high 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting with four three-pointers. Claxton matched Wayen Wiggins, who scored four points, with a team-high four assists alongside a pair of boards and steals each. Justin Britt and Sebastian Mendoza were the only other Rattlers in double figures with 12 points apiece. Olaverr Comacho led all players with nine rebounds.

Notes
-Fort Lewis takes a 2-1 lead over St. Mary's (Texas) all-time and ties the series up at 1-1 at neutral sites. The Skyhawks also boast a two-game win streak against the Rattlers.
-The Skyhawks hand the Rattlers their first and only loss in non-conference play.
-FLC set a new season-high shooting 61.2 percent (30-49) from the field for the game, and had its second-best three-point shooting performance of the year at 54.5 percent (6-11)
-Jaxon Smith posted his third 20+ point performance of the year and finished in double figures for the seventh time this season.
-Stewart Erhart maintained his streak of seven games in double figures after returning from an early-season injury.
-Chuol Deng, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal, ends his consecutive streak of scoring in double figures at 11 games.
-Yorgio Golesis made a season-high and NCAA DII-high eight assists to mark his fourth game this year with five or more assists.

Up Next
Fort Lewis will look to enjoy the holiday break before returning to action for a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games against Western Colorado University (5-6, 3-1 RMAC) on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m., and Westminster University (6-4, 1-3 RMAC) on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m.

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