GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Angelo State seniors Chris Jones and Demario Mayfield each scored 23 points to help lead No. 23-ranked Rams to an 89-73 non-conference win over Western State Colorado at the Colorado Mesa Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday at the Brownson Arena.

The Rams (6-1) made an emphatic response to their first loss of the season which came on Friday in a 70-67 defeat to Colorado Mesa by owning a 42-26 rebounding advantage and shooting 52.2 percent against the Mountaineers (1-3). Mayfield recorded his second double-double of the season by adding 11 rebounds to his 23 points and also had five assists and two steals for the Rams who didn't trail in the game after Marsell Holden drilled a 3-pointer to give ASU a 3-2 lead just 87 second into the game. The Rams grew their lead to 16-8 on a Jones layup nine minutes into the game and were up 39-27 at halftime.

"Our team responded today in a positive way," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "Western State is a difficult team to play against because they always have at least four shooters on the floor. We had less than 24 hours to prepare for the game and Max (Lefevre) did a good job with the scouting report and our players executed."

Holden finished the game with a season-best 19 points after hitting three 3-pointers, while Jones added six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Rams in the win. His 23 points were a season-high and it was the sixth game out of seven that Jones has scored in double-figures. He is now averaging 14.4 points per game and leads the Rams with 36 assists and 22 steals, while Mayfield leads the rams with 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds. Mayfield matched his season-best in scoring with the 23-point effort after also scoring 23 points on Friday against CMU. He has scored 20 or more points in three games this season and has scored in double-figures in six of seven games along with Jones.

Thomas Brandsma scored a season-high eight points and contributed five rebounds to lead the ASU bench which scored 16 points. Raijon Kelly and Omari Gudul added four rebounds each for the Rams with Gudul scoring five points and Kelly hitting a late 3-pointer for his lone points of the game where he also had three assists. The Rams owned a 36-12 advantage on points in the paint scoring and also a 21-11 margin on second-chance points. ASU forced 15 turnovers and turned those turnovers into 22 points in its sixth win of the season.

Danny Hopkins led WSCU with 27 points, including hitting five 3-pointers and Mason Biddle (12 points) and CJ Schutt (10) joined Hopkins in double-digits. The Mountaineers went 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) on 3-pointers in the game with Keenan Prochazka added nine points on a 3-for-4 night beyond the arc.

ASU continues its three-game road trip against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams at 6 p.m. on Monday against Western New Mexico in Silver City, New Mexico. The Mustangs (0-3) did not play this weekend and will be coming off a 94-87 loss to Eastern New Mexico last Saturday at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Our team remains a work in progress," Beard said. "We have another quick turnaround with a road game on Monday. It will be a challenge."