For the first time this season, the Angelo State men's basketball team (7-6) topped the century mark and won as the Rams downed East Central, 128-104, Thursday night in a Lone Star Conference crossover game in Ada, Okla.
The 128 points scored by the Rams was the third-most ever scored by the program and the most since a 131-38 win over Dallas Christian on Nov. 24, 2000. The school record for points in a game is 148, set against Dallas Christian in 1994. It was the most points ever scored by ASU away from home. The 232 points scored by the two teams combined made Thursday's game the third-highest scoring game ever played in by the Rams.
Junior LaMarshall Corbett led all five Ram starters in double figures with 31 points in the high-scoring affair. Corbett was 10-of-14 from the field, connecting on 7-of-10 three-pointers, and hit 4-of-4 shots from the free-throw line while adding four rebounds and a game-high eight assists. Seniors Stavon Williams and Johnny Barnes each had 22 points, senior Derrick Webster had 16 points and senior Shavar Burch had 15 points. ASU got just 22 points off the bench in the victory. Barnes recorded his third "double-double" of the season as he added a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Rams opened the game strong and never trailed as they snapped a three-game losing skid. It took just over four minutes for ASU to grab its first double-digit lead as Williams hit a three-pointer to give the Rams an 18-8 lead with 15:55 left before half. Williams' trey would spark a 10-0 run by the Rams as ASU cruised to a 15-point lead at the half, 63-48. The Rams shot 59.1 percent (26-of-44) from the field over the first 20 minutes, but hit just 3-of-10 shots (30%) from behind the arc.
ASU would maintain a double-digit lead until the 12:20 mark of the second half when Tiger Bobby McAdoo used a three-pointer to trim the Ram lead to nine points, 82-73. ECU would get as close as eight points on two occasions before the Rams would pull away late for the 24-point win, their largest margin of victory of the season.
The Rams would finish the game shooting 61.3 percent (49-of-80) from the field as a team. ASU's 49 made field goals tied the fourth-highest total in school history. The Rams hit 10-of-24 shots (41.7%) from three-point range and were 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. ASU out-rebounded the Tigers, 46-31. The Rams entered Thursday's game averaging just over 75 points per game.
For ECU (5-8), Maurice Abraham and Eric Allen each had 21 points while Darren Avery had 19 points and Wayne Andrews had 17 points. Andrews led the Tigers with nine rebounds. It was the sixth time this season that the Tigers have scored more than 100 points as ECU entered the night as the LSC's top scoring team, averaging 93 points per game. The Tigers shot 48 percent (36-of-75) from the field, hitting 14-of-30 shots (46.7%) from three-point range, and made 18-of-25 shots (72%) from the free-throw line.
The Rams continue their Oklahoma road swing Saturday at Southeastern Oklahoma. Tip-off is set of 8 p.m. at Sullivan Arena in Durant, Okla.