LUBBOCK – The Angelo State men's basketball team matched Texas Tech point-for-point in the second half, but couldn't overcome a 19-point halftime deficit in a 65-46 exhibition loss to the Red Raiders on Friday at the United Spirit Arena.

Daniel Skinner and Bryan Hammond led the Rams with nine points each, while Reggie Sutton scored eight points. Chris Talkington hit two 3-pointers and finished with six points and Kenny Williams and Thomas Brandsma led the team with six rebounds each. Williams also had six points and three assists in his first game as a Ram.

"I was just proud of the guys," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "I thought as to be expected in the first half we were a little nervous, had some jitters; but in the second half we calmed down and played a little bit. We're a better shooting team than this. We shot the ball terrible tonight. I give Texas Tech some of the credit for that, but we'll shoot the ball better as the season goes on."

ASU and Texas Tech were evenly matched on turnovers in the game with Tech holding a 18-17 advantage. The Rams were limited though shooting the ball against the Red Raiders, finishing the contest at 29.2 percent from the floor and to 21.4 percent on 14 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

The Rams shot well from the free-throw line, making 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) with Skinner leading the way with a 7-for-10 performance from the line and Hammond making six of his nine free throws. ASU, which was outscored 24-16 in the paint and 14-8 on second-chance points, cut the Red Raiders lead to 49-40 with nine minutes to play and would match Tech at 28-28 in second-half scoring.

Jordan Talbert led the Red Raiders with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Jamal Williams contributed 10 points and Dejan Kravic and Robert Turner adding nine apiece. Tech finished the game shooting 46.1 percent from the floor, but were limited to 31.3 percent on its 16 attempts on 3-pointers.

Angelo State will open its regular season a week from the exhibition with two games at the SWOSU Basketball Classic in Weatherford, Okla. ASU will tipoff for the first time at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 against East Central and then play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 against Southwestern Oklahoma. Friday's game in Lubbock will not be counted on the records of either team. The Rams will play their first home game at 8 p.m. on Nov. 12 against Arlington Baptist at the Junell Center. Click for complete schedule