Final Stats (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO – Angelo State tied an NCAA record with its ninth overtime game of the season as the Rams topped Incarnate Word, 70-67, in a Lone Star Conference South Division contest at the McDermott Center Saturday night. Angelo State became just the second team to beat the Cardinals at home this season while earning a regular-season sweep.
Richard Thomas (18) and LaDonn Huckaby (16) led the Rams in scoring, but it was five points from
Trey Mays and four from
Steven Moore in overtime that provided the difference. Mays scored ASU's last five points while rallying the team from a 66-65 deficit with two minutes to go. The Rams (11-13, 7-5 LSC South), who dropped a four overtime decision to Eastern New Mexico Wednesday night, improved to 4-5 in overtime this season while tying the 2006-07 Barton College squad for most overtimes in a single season. Angelo State has played 14 overtime periods this season, or 70 total minutes of extra basketball.
“I don't know how much more of this I can take – my hair is turning white and it's probably going to start falling out,” Angelo State head coach Fred Rike said. “I swear that somebody at Buffalo Wild Wings is messing with us – 'send it into overtime'. I'm really proud of my team, they're resilient. It was a tough game Wednesday night, a tough loss. We can sit here and say 'what if, what if, what if' but the Rams are still alive and I'm excited.”
Angelo State had its chances to win in regulation after jumping out to a seven-point advantage near the midpoint of the first half, before pushing the lead to double figures at 50-40 with 7:27 left in the second half. The Cardinals (16-7, 5-6 LSC South) closed the gap with a 15-5 run, then took their first lead since the opening minutes of the second period on a three-pointer by Eric Stewart with 44 seconds left. ASU's Steve Moore, who played just 15 minutes in regulation because of foul trouble, sank two late free throws to tie the game and Stewart's go-ahead try as time expired didn't fall.
Moore scored four of the Rams first six points of the overtime period, but Angelo State found itself down 66-65 after a three-pointer by Kelcey Solomon with 2:09 left on the clock. Mays, who finished the game with eight points, drove the lane on the next possession and was fouled as his shot rolled in. The senior from Houston, knocked down the bonus then hit two free throws with less than 10 seconds to play to seal the win.
“Steve Moore sat a long time and I thought played well at the end and it was just a great team win,” Rike said. “Trey made his free throws. He was 4-for-5 and made two big ones when it counted. It's good to see him do that because I can't tell you enough how hard that guy works, he's one of the hardest working guys I've had.”
Incarnate Word's Tracy Robinson led all scorers with 28 points in the loss. Solomon (11) and Stewart (10) also reached double figures for the Cardinals. Chris Johnson narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Moore joined Thomas and Huckaby in double digit scoring with 12 points. Huckaby led all rebounders with 12 boards while recording his second double-double in the last three games. The Rams shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field and shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Joey Lenox accounted for three of the three-pointers as the junior went 3-for-3 from long range.
Angelo State will travel to Midwestern State on Wednesday for a pivotal South Division match-up as the season nears its end. The women's game will tipoff at 6 p.m., with the men's game to follow at around 8 p.m. Angelo State will close the regular season at home next Saturday against Tarleton State in a doubleheader to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Junell Center.
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