SAN ANGELO – Two of the most dynamic NCAA Division II basketball teams in the state of Texas will clash when No. 16-ranked Angelo State hosts Texas-Permian Basin at 6 p.m. on Saturday in a non-conference game at the Junell Center.

The Rams (7-1) are coming off an 85-52 win over Western New Mexico on Monday, while the Falcons (5-1) earned an 81-65 win over Eastern New Mexico on Tuesday in Portales, New Mexico. UTPB enters this weekend third in the nation with a 16.0 rebounding margin advantage and is fourth in the nation with 98.2 points per game.

"UTPB is a well-coached talented team," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "They are very experienced with all seniors and juniors. Last year they played in their conference championship game. We will have to play very well for a full 40 minutes to compete on Saturday."

Angelo State, which is 16-2 on the Stephens Arena court over the past two seasons, is second in the nation with a 27.1 scoring margin advantage over its opponents, while UTPB is eighth in that category by outscoring its opponents by 25.6 points per game. The Rams rank third in the nation in assists and fourth in steals, while their 54.3 percent shooting ranks fifth in the nation. The team currently has 93 steals (11.6 per game) and 160 assists (20 per game). ASU is getting off to strong starts in games this season and has outscored its opponents 359-208 in the first half and is 1-0 in overtime games with an 88-79 win over Arkansas Tech two weeks ago at the Junell Center.

ASU is 5-0 on its home court this season and is averaging 94.4 points per game in those games by shooting 53.8 percent from the field. Defensively, the Rams are limiting their opponents to 60.2 points per game and to 33.6 percent shooting at the Junell Center. At home, the Rams own a 34.2 scoring margin advantage in a display of dominance over its opponents.  ASU's only blemish this season came in a 70-67 loss to Colorado Mesas last Friday in Grand Junction, Colorado where the Mavericks hit 11 3-pointers and the Rams struggled from the free-throw line by missing 13 of their 21 attempts.

Western New Mexico is the only common opponent for the Rams and Falcons so far this season with UTPB earning a 101-57 win over the Mustangs in its season-opener. ASU owns a 7-6 all-time advantage over the Falcons, but have dropped three of the past four meetings against UTPB. The two teams did not play against each other last season.
 
RAM ROSTER REPORT
Chris Jones is second in the nation with 26 steal and is also averaging 14.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Jones, a senior from Dallas, also leads the Rams and Lone Star Conference with 39 assists (4.87) through the first eight games of his ASU career. He is behind only Byron Sanford (Trevecca Nazarene) who has 29 steals this season. A transfer from North Texas, Jones has scored in double-figures in seven of eight games and scored a season-high 23 points last Saturday against Western New Mexico where he also had six rebounds and four assists. He has four steals in three games this season coming against Oklahoma Panhandle, McMurry and is coming off a four-steal 14 point game against Western New Mexico on Monday. Jones, who was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week after the first weekend of play, had a season-best seven rebounds against Arkansas Tech in ASU's overtime win. His 26 steals (3.3 per game) are 11 ahead of Xavier Blackburn who has 15 for Midwestern State and Miles Gatewood of West Texas A&M who are tied for second in the LSC stat category.

Demario Mayfield continues to lead the Rams with 16 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season. Named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Mayfield is coming off a weekend where he scored a season-best 23 points against Colorado Mesa and Western State Colorado last weekend in Grand Junction, Colorado. A senior from Royston, Georgia, Mayfield has scored in double-figures in six of eight games this season and has scored 20 or more points in three games and is currently fifth in the conference in scoring. He leads the Rams with two double-doubles this season after scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against McMurry and then securing 11 rebounds to go along with his 23 points against Western State Colorado. Mayfield has also added 24 assists and 14 steals for the Rams this season.

Marsell Holden is third on the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game and leads the Rams with 16 3-pointers this season. A senior from Farrell, Pennsylvania, Holden is shooting 31.4 percent from beyond the arc and scored a season-best 19 points in the ASU win over Western State Colorado last Saturday. He has scored in double-figures in six games this season with an 18-point game against Texas A&M International also on his resume. Along with his scoring, Holden has two games with three assists and has seven steals this season. Raijon Kelly has scored in double-figures in three games this season and is coming off a 14-point performance on Monday against Western New Mexico where he went 5 of 6 from the field and also hit all four of his free throws. Kelly, a senior from St. Paul, Minnesota, is averaging 8.9 points per game for the Rams and is shooting 56 percent from the field. He scored a season-best 15 points in the overtime win over Arkansas Tech and also scored 13 points in the win over McMurry. He is 9-for-10 on free throws this season and is second on the team and third in the LSC with 37 assists.

Omari Gudul has started all eight games this season and is averaging 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game to start his junior campaign. Gudul is coming off an 8-point performance against WNMU where he also had four rebounds in the win. Gudul has a season-best nine points in wins over Texas A&M International and McMurry where he also had five rebounds in both games. DeQuavious Wagner leads the Rams off the bench with 5.5 points per game and is coming off a season-best 10 points on Monday at WNMU. Wagner is shooting 50 percent from the field this season on 28 shots and has also added 11 assists and 11 steals for the Rams. Bilal Richardson is adding 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and Brentine Taylor 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game to start off their junior seasons at ASU. Richardson scored 10 points in the season-opener against OPSU and is coming off a 9-point performance against WNMU, while Taylor scored a season-best 10 points against TAMIU. Richardson leads the Rams with six blocked shots this season.
 
TEXAS-PERMIAN BASIN FALCON (5-1)
Phadarius Taylor leads the explosive Falcon offense with 18.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this season, while Malcolm Hill-Bey is averaging 14.8 points and Madison Turner is at 14.2 points per game. Taylor, a senior guard from Jacksonville, is coming off a 20-point performance against the Greyhounds and has also added seven steals and 14 assists. Hill-Bey is a junior from Chicago who led the Falcons with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win over ENMU and has 20 assists this season. Taylor is shooting 64.3 percent from the field with Hill-Bey at 57.1 percent. Turner, a senior from San Antonio, is tied for the team lead with 21 assists with senior guard Thomas Feeney.

Lamar Falley is adding 12.2 points per game in his junior season out of Las Vegas, while Stephan Thompson is at 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in his senior season out of Milwaukee. UTPB owns a 273-177 rebounding advantage over its opponents this season and earned a 101-57 win over WNMU in a matchup of the only common opponent this season.

RAMS IN THE RANKINGS
Early season success continues to attract national attention for the Angelo State basketball team which leaped to No. 16 in the D2SIDA Media Poll which was released on Tuesday and comes with the Rams starting the year with a 7-1 record and owning a 27.1 scoring margin advantage over its opponents.

The Rams, who dropped out of the NABC poll after being ranked No. 23 last week, went 2-1 on their first road trip of the season where they fell 70-67 to Colorado Mesa on its home court before earning an 89-73 neutral-court win over Western State Colorado last Saturday and then completing the road trip with an 85-52 win over Western New Mexico on Monday in Silver City, New Mexico.

"One of the positives with our team after these first eight games has been our depth," Beard said. "Every player on our roster has contributed and shown the ability to help our team. Like all teams this time of the season, we are still a work in progress and are trying to be more consistent. We have put together some stretches of good basketball, but still have not played a full 40 minutes like we are capable of. Daily improvement and consistency remains our focus."

West Liberty (5-0) is the top-ranked team in the D2SIDA poll, while Southern Connecticut (5-0), Florida Southern (5-0), Bellarmine (6-0) and Central Missouri (7-0) round out the top-5. The South Central region is represented by No. 6 Metro State (5-1) and No. 7 Tarleton State (5-0). Colorado-Colorado Springs, Texas A&M-Commerce, Colorado School of Mines are receiving votes in the poll which is selected by a panel of sports information directors.