SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State basketball team will travel to Abilene to play McMurry in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Kimbrell Arena for a rematch of a Nov. 18 game the Rams won over the War Hawks at the Junell Center.

The Rams (8-1) are on a three-game winning streak after earning a 91-79 win over Texas-Permian Basin last Saturday, while the War Hawks (2-4) are coming off a 77-49 loss at Midwestern State last Saturday. The first meeting, which counted towards ASU's record but was considered an exhibition for McMurry, saw the Rams have five player score in double-figures and run away with a 104-48 win in their third game of the season.

"We have a lot of respect for McMurry's team," said ASU head coach Chris Beard, who coached the War Hawks during the 2012-13 season. "They have good talent and are well coached. Connor Robinson started for our McMurry team as a sophomore. He is a very good college basketball player. The outcome of our first game with McMurry will have no impact on Friday's game. Each game is different. We understand this and will have to play well on Friday to have a chance to win on the road."

Angelo State is receiving votes in the NABC and D2SIDA Media Poll, but enter Friday's game unranked. The Rams were ranked No. 23 in the NABC Coaches' Poll two weeks ago but dropped out after their 70-67 road loss at Colorado Mesa. Ranked No. 16 in the nation last week in the D2SIDA Media Poll, the Rams dropped out of that poll despite two regional wins over Western New Mexico and UTPB last week.

Through nine games of their 28-game regular season, the Rams lead the nation with 184 assists (20.4 per game) and are third in steals with 101. ASU, which has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 804-575 this season, also ranks fourth in the nation with a 25.4 scoring margin, fifth with its 54.4 field-goal percentage and are 17th after scoring 89.3 points per game. Defensively, the team has limited opponents to 38.9 percent shooting which ranks 22nd in the country and their 6.3 turnover margin is 16th.

Angelo State has three more games on its schedule before the holiday break, starting with a road game at McMurry at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Abilene and then home games against Arlington Baptist (Tuesday, Dec. 16) and Arkansas-Monticello (Saturday, Dec. 20). ASU is 2-1 away from San Angelo this season and 6-0 on the Stephens Arena court. Over the past two seasons, the Rams own a 17-2 record inside the Junell Center and are 18-3 in non-conference games. 
 
RAM ROSTER REPORT
Demario Mayfield leads the Rams with three double-doubles this season after going for 23 points and 11 rebounds in last Saturday's win over UTPB. Mayfield, who also had eight assists and five steals in the game, is averaging a team-best 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for ASU this season. A senior from Royston, Georgia, Mayfield also had double-doubles against Western State Colorado (23/11) and in the first game against McMurry (14/11) and is shooting 55.6 percent from the field (50-for-90). Mayfield was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week last week after his work on the team's first road trip which included him scoring 23 points against Colorado Mesa and Western State.

Chris Jones was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring 23 points last Saturday against UTPB and 14 points last Monday against Western New Mexico. Jones, who is averaging 15.3 points this season, leads the LSC with 47 assists and 26 steals this season. He currently ranks fourth in the nation with his 26 steals. Jones, who is shooting 63.2 percent from the field (60-for-95), has scored in double-figures in eight of nine games this season with his season-best coming in 23-point performances against UTPB and Western State. He also has two eight-assist games on his resume and has seven games where he has had three or more steals. He was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week after the first weekend of play.

Marsell Holden drained a season-best five 3-pointers and matched his season-high with 19 points in the win over UTPB. He leads the Rams with 21 3-pointers this season and is averaging 12.7 points per game in his first season at ASU. A senior from Farrell, Pennsylvania, Holden has scored in double-figures in seven games this season and also has eight assists and nine steals for the Rams. Raijon Kelly is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game and is shooting 60.3 percent from the field in his senior season. A transfer from Samford, Kelly scored 15 points on a 7 of 8 shooting performance against UTPB and also has double-figure scoring games against McMurry (13), Arkansas Tech (15) and Western New Mexico (14). He is 9 of 10 from the free-throw line this season and 35 of 58 from the field.

Omari Gudul has started eight of nine games this season and is averaging 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Rams. A junior from the Congo, Gudul has scored eight or more points in five games this season and has secured four or more rebounds in eight games. He is tied for the team lead with six blocked shots with Bilal Richardson who is averaging 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 points per game. Richardson, a junior from Atlanta, scored his season-high with 10 points in the season-opener against Oklahoma Panhandle and also scored nine points last Monday in ASU's win at Western New Mexico. Brentine Taylor, who is also a junior, made his first start for the Rams last Saturday and is averaging 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Taylor is shooting 72 percent from the field (18-for-25).

Thomas Brandsma is adding 3.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for the Rams in his junior season. Brandsma, who started his collegiate career at McMurry as a freshman, is in his second season with the Rams and scored a season-high eight points against Western State. He is shooting 54.5 percent from the field (12-for-22) and has secured three or more rebounds in six games this season. Tommy Woolridge, who is also back for his second season at ASU, is averaging 3.6 points per game and is shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. He has hit 43 3-pointers in his two-year career at ASU after leading the team with 37 3-pointers last season. DeQuavious Wagner is adding 4.9 points per game and has 14 assists and 11 steals, while Dakota Rawls is also helping to extend defenses for the Rams with 6 3-pointers this season and is averaging 2.6 points this season. Rawls, who missed last season with injury, scored a season-high 11 points in the season-opener when he went 3 of 3 on 3-pointers against the Aggies.
 
McMURRY WAR HAWK REPORT
The War Hawks enter Friday's game on a four-game losing streak which includes losses to Wayland Baptist (91-61), Lubbock Christian (72-55), Texas Lutheran (80-66) and Midwestern State (77-49). McMurry opened its season with a 101-93 win over Concordia and then earned a 94-89 win over Centenary two days after their game in San Angelo.

Robinson leads the War Hawks with 22.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, while Jordan Holmes is averaging 17.5 points per game and has 11 assists. Robinson and Holmes each led their team with 16 points in the first game against the Rams. Alex Lewis, a senior from Converse, is averaging 13.3 points per game for McMurry. Lewis was on the 2012-13 Angelo State preseason roster and won the Midnight Madness Slam Dunk Contest, but did not play for the Rams during that season. Hondo Webb is adding 5.3 points per game and leads the War Hawks with 20 assists, while Aaron Gettys has 10 assists and is averaging 4.3 points per game.

McMurry assistant coach Justin Hales was on the ASU coaching staff as a student-assistant last season. Beard and ASU associate head coach Cinco Boone helped guide the War Hawks to a 19-10 record in the 2012-13 season before taking over the Ram program last season.