SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team returns to action at 7 p.m. on Monday against Lubbock Christian at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock.

The game is a rematch of a Nov. 10 contest where the Rams took a 71-65 win over the Chaparrals at the Junell Center. ASU (3-5, 1-3 Lone Star Conference) ventures outside of conference play for the first time in nearly a month and face a LCU (6-4) team which is riding a four-game winning streak going into a Saturday game at Stephen F. Austin.  

“They are a very good team that is playing well right now,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “They're averaging about 30 foul shots a game and are doing a great job of shooting the ball. They are a very good offensive team that is tough to guard. They've become a lot better team than at the start of the season.”

Click for media links

The Rams are 2-2 in non-conference games this season and are looking for their first road-win of the season. ASU comes into the game averaging 67 points per game, while opponents are scoring 70.5. Chris Talkington and Antonio Dye lead the scoring attack with 13.3 and 13.1 points per game, respectively, while Jovan Austin is averaging 12.5 points. Talkington also lead the Rams with 6.3 rebounds per game, while Dakota Rawls is adding 5.3 rebounds and 10 points a game.

Bryan Hammond and Ryan Marsh led the Rams with 14 points each in the win over LCU, while Rawls added 10 points and Marsh had six blocks. ASU outscored the Chaps 40-32 in the second half of the season-opening 71-65 win.  

“We are still trying to find our identity,” Rike said. “We're still searching for our roles on the court and hopefully our best basketball is in front of us. There's no more important game than the next game. We need to win this game.”

Lubbock Christian, which is 1-2 against LSC opponents with a win and loss against Eastern New Mexico and the loss to ASU, comes into the weekend averaging 80.2 points per game and are limiting opponents to 73. The Chaps are shooting 48 percent from the floor, 38 percent on three-point attempts and have shot 80 more free throws than their opponents. Jamaal Crayton, Jabril Durham and Eli Baker are each scoring over 13 points per game, while Baker is also adding 7.5 rebounds a game.

Coming into the Chaps' game on Saturday against SFA, they have scored over 80 points in their previous four games – including a 100-77 win over Wayland Baptist. LCU has scored over 100 points twice with its first triple-digit output coming in a 110-78 win over Our Lady of the Lake.

Angelo State will follow its trip to Lubbock with a Wednesday game at Texas-Permian Basin (1-5) play its final game in 2012. The Rams will then return to LSC action at Cameron on Jan. 2 before returning to the Junell Center to play Midwestern State on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m.