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SAN ANGELO – Steve Moore and Richard Thomas combined for 51 points to lead all scorers as a scrappy Angelo State squad, missing its two leading scorers, upset No. 13 Incarnate Word, 80-71, at the Junell Center/Stephens Arena Saturday Night. The win marks ASU's second victory over a top-25 opponent at home this season.

Moore poured in 26, including 13 from the free throw line, and Thomas added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the short-handed Rams (8-10, 4-2 LSC South), who played without dismissed guard LaMarshall Corbett (21.8 ppg) and injured forward Ridge McKeither (18.1 ppg). LaDonn Huckaby also reached double figures and recorded a double-double for ASU with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“It was a gusty effort by my guys,” Angelo State head coach Fred Rike said. “We've had a lot of adversity, but I thought we really played like a team for 40 minutes. We only played six guys tonight. That could go up and down as the season goes on, but our team played hard.”

There were signs from the outset that the Rams could be in for a long night when Shaun Umeh connected on a lay-up for the game's first points then Kelcey Solomon added two more inside the paint with a jumper to make it 4-0 early. Incarnate Word (15-3, 4-2 LSC South) would eventually outscore the Rams 18-12 in the paint in the first half and a whopping 44-24 in the paint for the game without the post presence of McKeither, but it didn't matter in the end.

Angelo State regained the lead by the middle of the first half after a pair of free throws from Andre Adams made it 18-17, and didn't trail for the rest of the contest. The Rams led by as many as 16 points in the second half and survived a late push from UIW with a barrage of free throws. Angelo State connected on 30-of-38 attempts from the foul line, three times as many as the Cardinals made. Angelo State also used a steady shot from beyond the arc to aid in the final difference, hitting 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from long range.

“We can't hang our heads right now,” Moore said. “We need to have confidence in our guards now that Ridge is out. He's a big-time player so the guards need to attack. We have to go make plays. We have to draw the fouls. We have to knock down free throws and we did that tonight.”

Umeh (18), Solomon (13) and Eric Stewart (12) all reached double figures for the Cardinals. Roshun Jackson was close to a double-double, but finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

Angelo State will play Abilene Christian twice next week as the Lone Star Conference South Division schedule reaches its midpoint. The Rams and Rambelles will host the Wildcats in a doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, then will travel to Abilene for a Saturday doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.

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