SAN ANGELO – A three-game week which will complete the non-conference portion of the schedule begins for the No. 22-ranked Angelo State men's basketball team at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Oklahoma Wesleyan at Stephens Arena inside the Junell Center.
The Rams (9-0), who are one of only 25 NCAA Division II teams without a loss, will then travel east across state lines to Arkansas for a pair of games against Arkansas Tech (5-3) on Thursday and Arkansas-Monticello (6-2) on Saturday before going on a 13-day break from games.
"We are playing some really important games this week and the biggest challenge is keeping everyone focused," ASU head coach
Chris Beard said. "College basketball is unique because we are now in a semester break when the players are not in school anymore and the Christmas break is right around the corner. That's a challenge to stay focused during this week and not look ahead. We have to live in the moment and continue working to get better every day. It's a natural time for them to relax and we can't afford to do that."
Angelo State comes into this week having matched the longest winning streak at any point of a season in program history following a 71-69 win over No. 16 Arkansas-Fort Smith last Friday. ASU has started the season with a 9-0 record for the first time in program history and are ranked No. 22 in this week's
NABC Division II Coaches Poll.
The Rams have established the best start in program history by shooting 52 percent from the field (11th best in the nation) and limiting opponents to 36 percent (6th best). ASU is 5-0 against NCAA Division II opponents this season and 4-0 against NAIA opponents. The Rams are 3-0 against Great American Conference opponents with wins over East Central (72-62), Southwestern Oklahoma State (67-65) and UAFS (71-69).
Kenny Williams recorded his fifth double-double of the season last Friday against UAFS with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Williams is 11th in the nation with his five double-double and has the most in the Lone Star Conference. He shot 10 of 12 from the free-throw line in the game and also had three blocks and five assists. He is averaging 17.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and also leads the team with 10 blocked shots this season. Williams was named the Lone Star Conference's Offensive Player of the Week after the first weekend of action for his production in Weatherford, Okla. where he scored his season-high 28 points against East Central in the season-opener. His 13 rebounds and five assists against UAFS established season-highs in both categories for the senior from St. Louis, Mo.
Daniel Skinner comes into Tuesday's game averaging 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Rams. The junior has also contributed 10 steals, eight blocks and 23 assists in his first season at ASU after transferring from Jacksonville College. Skinner is coming off a 13-point outing against UAFS where he also had five rebounds. He has scored in double-digits six times this season with a season-high coming in a 17-point, 10-rebound game against York College.
Bryan Hammond is third on the team with 9.8 points per game and leads the Rams with 44 assists through the first nine games of the season. He scored a season-high 19 points against Western New Mexico and has scored in double-digits four times this season. He has five games of five or more assists, including a season-high eight assists against McMurry at home on Dec. 3.
Chris Talkington has scored in double-digits the past two game, scoring 12 points in a home win over McMurry before scoring 10 last Friday against UAFS. Talkington is averaging 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 6 of 16 from beyond the arc. He averaged over 10 points per game last season as a junior after transferring from Nichols State along with Hammond.
Tommy Woolridge hit the game-winner in the Rams' second game of the season against Southwestern Oklahoma and continues to hit big shots for ASU. Woolridge scored 16 points last Friday against UAFS, including hitting three 3-pointers in the victory over the nationally ranked team. Woolridge is a junior in his first season at ASU and is shooting 10 of 28 (35 percent) on 3-pointers this season and has also added 16 assists, 10 steals and 14 rebounds.
The Rams have a deep team with 15 players having game action this season.
Reggie Sutton (5.4 points, 1.7 rebounds per game),
Omari Gudul (5.2 points, 4.7 rebounds),
Chantz Chambers (4.8 points per game),
Thomas Brandsma (3.8 points, 2.4 rebounds),
Ryan Marsh (2.9 points),
Nash Nelson (11 assists) and
Justin Walling (2.6 points) add to the depth and options for the Rams.
Oklahoma Wesleyan comes into San Angelo with a 9-5 overall record, including wins over Friends University, University of St. Mary, Tabor College, University of Jamestown, Sterling College, Bethany College, Bacone College, Barclay College and most recently a 112-83 win over Dallas Christian College. The Eagles have scored over 80 points in 11 games this season and over 100 twice. They are averaging just over nine 3-pointers per game and 86.2 points per game.
Devin Harris leads OWU with 20.9 points per game, while Tyler Woods is averaging 15.5 and Josh Young 14 points per game. Steven Cooks leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game with Woods pulling down 5.8 rebounds and Phillip Jahn another 5.07 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT: The 13-day break from games will end on Jan. 4, 2014 when the Rams travel to play at the University of Texas-El Paso in an exhibition game. ASU will then open Lone Star Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Tarleton State in Stephenville.
