SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team returns to action at 6 p.m. on Saturday against Midwestern State in a Lone Star Conference game at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.

The Rams (5-18, 2-13 LSC) are looking to snap an eight-game losing streak, while the Mustangs (17-5, 13-2 LSC) can clinch the conference's regular-season championship with a win. MSU took a 65-55 win over ASU in the Junell Center on Jan. 5 in a game where the Mustangs outrebounded the Rams 55-23.

“The challenge for us against them is getting rebounds,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “They demolished us on the glass when they played here and we can't allow that to happen again if we want to win the game.”

Jovan Austin continues to lead Angelo State with 12.6 points per game and 79 assists and 36 steals this season. The freshman from Grand Prairie also leads the team with 97-made free throws. Antonio Dye is adding 10.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while Chris Talkington (10.7), Dakota Rawls (10.5) and Bryan Hammond (9.8) have provided offensive production throughout the season. Dye led the Rams with 13 points against the Mustangs in the first meeting between the two teams.

Freshman Reggie Sutton has elevated his game and is averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds the past two games. Sutton recorded double-doubles against Texas A&M-Commerce and Cameron and is coming off a 19 point, 12 rebound effort in the overtime loss to the Aggies.

“Reggie really started stepping up his play the last couple of weeks in practice,” Rike said. “You can really see him developing into a great player and adjusting to the college game. He's played with a lot of energy for us and is helping us in the rebounding department.”

Rawls leads the conference in free-throw shooting at 89 percent (51 of 57), while Justin Walling leads the LSC at 53 percent shooting on 3-pointers (25 for 47). The Rams are shooting 39 percent from the floor this season, but lead the conference at 73 percent from the free-throw line.

Midwestern State is on a six-game winning streak following a 60-55 win over Abilene Christian on Wednesday and are looking for its sixth straight win over the Rams. MSU, which leads the conference with a plus-8.6 scoring margin and 41.2 rebounds a game, has won 20 consecutive games over ASU in Wichita Falls. The Mustangs also lead the conference in blocked shots (4.4 a game) and offensive rebounds (15.9).

Corbin Thomas leads the Mustangs with 12.9 points and eight rebounds per game. Thomas is shooting 54 percent from the floor this season and has grabbed 175 rebounds. Monzaigo Williams is adding 12 points per game and leads the Mustangs with 74 assists, while Kevin Grayer is adding 11.7 points per game and has 71 assists.

The Mustangs, who have a 43-22 advantage in the all-time series against ASU, are shooting 43 percent from the field this season and are outrebounding their opponents 906-682.

The Angelo State-Midwestern State game will be on 1260 KKSA with a simulcast on AngeloSports.com. The Rams will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Texas A&M-Kingsville before closing out the year on Saturday, March 2 against Incarnate Word in the Junell Center.