Click Links for Media Coverage
Audio
Live Stats
Twitter

SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team travels to play Abilene Christian for the final time as Lone Star Conference opponents on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. game at Moody Coliseum.

The Rams (5-12, 2-7 LSC) were edged 59-56 on Wednesday by the Wildcats (9-8, 3-6 LSC) and will look to even the season series and earn their first road-win of the year. ASU, which came into Wednesday's game averaging 88.6 points in its previous three games, was held to its third lowest point production of the season. Part of that came by not getting to the basket and no second-half free-throw attempts against ACU.

“We really need to attack their zone a lot stronger than we did on Wednesday,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “They went zone against us to keep us from attacking and we played into that. We have to do a better job of moving the basketball and getting into the paint.”

Angelo State made 11 of 12 free-throws in the first half on Wednesday and led 34-33 at halftime. ASU leads the conference by shooting 71 percent from the free-throw line this season. Jovan Austin, who was limited to four points due to early foul trouble, continues to lead the Rams with 11.9 points per game and is currently 11th in the conference in scoring. Antonio Dye is adding 11.1 points per game, while Bryan Hammond has upped his season average to 9.9 points per game after averaging 18.5 points in the last five games.

Dakota Rawls scored 13 points on Wednesday and leads the Rams with 5.2 rebounds per game. The sophomore is also averaging 10.8 points per game. Chris Talkington is averaging 11.4 points after scoring 11 points on Wednesday. Talkington leads the Rams with 31 made 3-pointers this season.

Abilene Christian comes into Saturday's game second in shooting percentage in the LSC with a 47 percent average. The Wildcats shot 40.4 percent in the first meeting against the Rams, including shooting 37 percent in the low-scoring second half. ACU made six 3-pointers in the game and lead the conference at 38 percent from beyond the arc.

Eric Lawton leads the Wildcats with 17.1 points per game and is second in the conference in scoring. He scored 18 points on Wednesday and also added three assists and six rebounds. Dosh Simms added 13 points and 12 rebounds at the Junell Center and is fourth in the conference with seven rebounds per game. The Wildcats are averaging 7.6 steals per game which ranks second in the conference.

An Angelo State win would even the conference records of ASU and ACU at 3-7 with eight games remaining on the schedule.  

“We need to rebound the ball and defend them in the paint better,” Rike said. “It's a big game for us. The next game is always the biggest game and we can't get swept by them because of where we are right now in league play.”

The Wildcats are leaving the Lone Star Conference after this season for the Southland Conference and currently hold a 59-44 all-time advantage over the Rams. ACU won the first ever meeting 80-79 on Dec. 2, 1965.

The game will be carried on 1260AM KKSA with a simulcast on AngeloSports.com with Jeremy Bryant on the call.