By Wes Bloomquist  ||  wes.bloomquist@angelo.edu

SAN ANGELO – Angelo State senior Demario Mayfield scored eight of his team-leading 22 points in overtime after Raijon Kelly tied the game on a layup with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to help lead the Rams to an 88-79 win over Arkansas Tech on Saturday at the Junell Center.

The Rams (4-0) outscored the Wonder Boys (1-3) 18-9 in the overtime session after the game was tied at 70 after regulation. ASU opened the overtime session on a 10-3 run which started on a Kelly layup and included three baskets from Mayfield. Up 78-73 with 1:24 to play in overtime, the Rams extended their lead with a Mayfield dunk and a pair of free throws by Kelly, Mayfield and Marsell Holden to take firm control of the win. The Rams scored 12 points in the paint and six points off turnovers in in the overtime session and improved to 4-0 for the second straight season.

"Today was a tough game," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "We are fortunate to win. Give Arkansas Tech credit. They made shots and executed their zone defense. Our guys competed, stayed poised and made some big plays down the stretch. We are a better shooting team than we showed today, but that's basketball. Each game is different. I'm proud of our team."

Angelo State forced overtime with Kelly making a layup with 23 seconds remaining in the game off an assist from Holden to tie the score at 70 in a half where the Rams led by as many as 10 points. ASU had a 60-50 lead on a Kelly 3-pointer with 8:46 remaining, ATU went on an 8-0 run which consisted of six free throws and a dunk by DeChriston McKinney. The Wonder Boys took a 65-64 lead on two free throws by Clarence Willard with 4:23 to play and led 70-68 on a Willard layup with 1:14 remaining.

Kelly finished the game with 15 points and led the team with nine assists, while Chris Jones added 12 points and four steals for the Rams. Mayfield went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line in his first 20-point performance of the season. Holden finished the game with nine points and Omari Gudul added eight points and three rebounds.

The Rams finished the game shooting 47.7 percent from the field as a team and had a 17-6 turnover advantage over the Wonder Boys who were limited to 3 of 9 shooting in the overtime session. The game was tied at 33 at halftime with ASU shooting 38.7 percent from the field and ATU at 43.3 percent, including knocking down seven 3-pointers. The Rams hit five 3-pointers in the first half and two in the second half with Mayfield hitting two 3-pointers in the game. ASU outscored the Wonder Boys 34-20 in the paint during the game and had a 21-9 point advantage off the bench with DeQuavious Wagner leading the reserves with six points.
The Wonder Boys finished the game hitting 13 of 14 free throws, while the Rams went 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) from the free-throw line.

Mayfield leads the Rams through four games with 15 points and six rebounds per game this season, while Jones is averaging 11 points and Holden is at 10.8 points per game. Angelo State will finish a five-game home stand to start the season with a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday against Oklahoma Wesleyan at the Junell Center before traveling to Grand Junction, Colorado next weekend where it will play Colorado Mesa and Western State Colorado in the Colorado Mesa Thanksgiving Classic at the Brownson Arena.