SAN ANGELO – Chris Jones and Demario Mayfield scored 23 points and distributed eight assists each to help lead No. 16-ranked Angelo State to a 91-79 non-conference win over Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday in a game where the Rams trailed by 18 points in the first half and then outscored the Falcons by 18 in the second half to secure the win at the Junell Center.

The Rams (8-1) held the Falcons (5-2) to a season-low 79 points after UTPB entered the game averaging 98.2 points per game which ranked fourth in the nation. ASU hit a season-high 10 3-pointers in the game which saw Marsell Holden drain a season-best five 3-pointers and Jones hitting on two 3-pointers.  ASU shot 55.6 percent from the field and had a 26-15 points-off-turnovers advantage in the game.

"Our biggest problem in the first half is that we were playing at their pace," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "They are a team that has been scoring in the 100s and we want to play in the 80s. We got caught up in the rat race and were playing too fast. Give our guys credit though. There was no panic when we were down and we kept our composure and got back in the game towards the end of the first half."

ASU improved to 6-0 at home this season with the win and is now 17-2 at the Junell Center over the past two seasons.

Mayfield who also had 11 rebounds to secure his third double-double of the season, was only two assists shy of his first triple-double and has now scored 23 points in three of the last four games. He also led the Rams with five steals in the game and now leads the team with 16.8 points per game. Jones matched his season-high with his 23 points and eight assists, while Raijon Kelly finished with 15 points after shooting 7-for-8 from the field and connecting on one 3-pointer. Holden finished with 19 points which matched his season-high after he shot 5 of 10 from beyond the arc and 7-for-16 from the field. Omari Gudul added four rebounds and had a blocked shot for the Rams. Jones leads the Rams with 47 assists this season and is now averaging 15.3 points per game, while Holden is averaging 12.7 points per game and leads the Rams with 21 made 3-pointers this season.

Angelo State shot 55.6 percent from the field and 43.5 percent on 3-pointers (10 of 23) and had only 12 turnovers in the game, while the Falcons committed 20 turnovers. The Rams are now scoring 89.3 points per game this season and are limiting opponents to 63.9 points per game.

ASU, which trailed 49-31 with 3:51 remaining in the first half, went on a 14-2 run to end the first half with Holden drilling a 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining to take the teams into the locker room with the Falcons leading 51-45 after the first 20 minutes of play. The Rams started their run with Tommy Woolridge hitting a 3-pointer with 3:14 on the clock and cut the game to single digits with Mayfield making a jump shot to trim the deficit to 51-42 with 41 seconds remaining in the first half. A defensive stop set up Holden who knocked down the 3-pointer off an assist from Mayfield.

"We started taking better shots and stepped up our defense by securing the rebounds and getting steals," Kelly said. "It started clicking and we regained momentum. It was a great game and was an exciting game. We showed that we are tough to go along with our talent."

The Rams took their first lead of the second half at 54-53 on a Holden jump shot and then regained the lead with Holden hitting a 3-pointer to take the game's score to 67-66 with 9:11 to play. ASU went on a 10-1 lead and had a 80-70 lead with Jones hitting his second 3-pointer for the game with 4 minutes remaining and ASU led 87-79 after back-to-back baskets by Mayfield in the final two minutes.

"Our team was able to string together a few stops there and go on our run to get back into the game," Mayfield said. "We started chipping away and then stayed tough to not let them retake it. UTPB was a really good team that was well-coached and played hard the entire game. They gave us everything and it was great to see our team respond. It was a fun game to play in."

Madison Turner led UTPB with 20 points and added six rebounds, while Stephan Thompson scored 19 points and led the Flacons with seven rebounds. UTPB finished the game shooting 54.3 percent from the field and hit eight 3-pointers, but its 20 turnovers came back to haunt them in the game after their 66.7 percent shooting in the first half cooled to 40.9 percent in the second half.

"It was a great game for both of our teams at this point in the season," Beard added. "I think their coach would say the same thing because it's a game that will make both of our teams better moving forward. They are a great team and gave us a great test."

The Rams will return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday at McMurry in Abilene. ASU earned a 104-48 win over the War Hawks in the first meeting between the two teams on Nov. 18 in the Junell Center. ASU will then host Arlington Baptist on Tuesday, Dec. 16 and Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday, Dec. 20 before taking a two-week break during the holidays.