Final Stats (.pdf)
EDMOND, Okla. – In a showcase of the top two players in the Lone Star Conference the edge went to Central Oklahoma's Dauntae Williams and the victory to the No. 15 Bronchos, 85-83, at Hamilton Field House Saturday evening. Williams scored a game-high 35 points, including the go-ahead bucket with three seconds left in the game, to hand Angelo State its fifth-consecutive loss to open the season – the Rams' worst start since going 0-7 to start the 1972-73 campaign.
Williams, the reigning LSC North Division Player of the Year, was less efficient from the field than Angelo State guard LaMarshall Corbett, the reigning LSC South Division Player of the Year, who poured in 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting for the Rams, but the UCO star scored five points down the stretch to lift his squad to its 13th consecutive home victory.
UCO led by as many as 11 points with 15:20 to play in the second half before Angelo State rallied behind a 61.5 percent (16-of-26) shooting effort after the break. Four Rams scored in double figures, including Corbett,
Richard Thomas (21),
Ridge McKeither (14) and
Steven Moore (10), but the team finished a bucket short after a drive by Williams and a pull-up jumper just inside the three-point line gave UCO a 85-83 lead with three ticks left on the clock. The Rams tried to get the ball to Corbett, who surpassed the 30-point mark for the second consecutive game, but he was double teamed and instead inbounded to McKeither near mid-court. McKeither dribbled twice and put up a potential game winner but it bounced off the back iron.
“I thought we played really hard in the second half,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “I'm proud of the way guys fought back. We missed a shot at the buzzer to win the game. It wasn't a great look, but it was a good look. We had to go the length of the floor and got a shot off, but it just didn't go. Central Oklahoma is a good team. We need more bench production. We're 0-5, but I still think our team will be very good once LSC South Division play begins.”
Angelo State trailed by 10 at the half, 41-31, after committing 13 turnovers and getting outscored 18-10 in the paint. Also significant was Angelo State's 14 first-half fouls. The Rams played with just seven players Saturday with
Joey Lenox and
Justin Morgan nursing injuries and freshman guard
Andre Adams out with the flu. Two of those seven players – forwards
Ivan Gombovic and LaDonn Huckaby – fouled out with nearly eight minutes left in the game. UCO was playing with its own depth issues as its No. 2 scorer missed the game while recovering from a concussion.
Still, the Rams put up a fight and used a 21-10 run passed the mid-point of the second half to tie the game at 62-62 with 8:59 to play. From that point on the game saw five more ties and neither team led by more than three points. In the end however, it was Williams who gave the home crowd its 41st win in the last 43 contests and an early LSC crossover victory.
The Rams and Rambelles, who were also defeated at UCO Saturday, will attempt to turn the tables against Northeastern State on Monday (Dec. 13), before coming back to the Junell Center for a double header against Southeastern Oklahoma (Dec. 18).
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