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ASU (16-7, 6-5 LSC) is in the midst of its best season in the past five years and earned an 83-68 win over MSU (17-6, 9-2 LSC) in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season. MSU is currently in second place in the conference standings, just one game behind Tarleton State (10-1 LSC). ASU, which will host Cameron at 4 p.m. on Saturday on its Senior Day at the Junell Center, is tied with Eastern New Mexico for third in the standings with three games to play.

Midwestern State  is on a season-best six game winning streak and is 8-2 at home this season. Its only conference loss at their coliseum came in an 83-81 loss to Tarleton State on Jan. 15 before the Mustangs traveled to Stephenville to knock the Texans from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 77-75 overtime win on Feb. 5.

Both Angelo State and Midwestern State have been ranked in the NABC Coaches Poll this season, but are currently unranked. MSU was ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation, while the Rams were No. 22 after starting the season with a program-best 10-0 record. The Rams have won the past two bouts against the perennial power from MSU after stunning the Mustangs, 53-50, last season in Wichita Falls. The victory towards the end of the 2012-13 campaign snapped a six-game losing streak to the Mustangs along with breaking a 20-game losing streak in Wichita Falls. MSU, which has won the past two LSC championships and advanced to the regional tournament six of the last seven seasons, has a 43-23 all-time advantage over the Rams.
 
COACH QUOTES: Angelo State head coach Chris Beard

On playing against Midwestern State on Wednesday in Wichita Falls:
"Midwestern is one of the best teams in our conference and in this region. They are an NCAA tournament team every year, and this season is no different. With three games remaining, Midwestern is still competing for the conference championship. We expect them to play their best game of the season on Wednesday. Midwestern has won their last six games. Three of those wins were in overtime. The difference between winning and losing in this conference is literally one or two possessions a game. That's what makes teams like Midwestern successful; the toughness and execution to win close games. We are working hard daily to build the same kind of program here at ASU."

On contributions from the six seniors on this year's roster who have three regular-season games remaining in their collegiate careers and will be honored before Saturday's game against Cameron:
"We have had good leadership and some good production for the most part from our seniors this season. We need better down the stretch here in late February and March. Every senior in the country wants to win. It's not about desire though. It's about playing well and producing for your team."
 
ASU, MSU Round 1: The Rams earned an 83-68 win over the Mustangs on Jan. 22 at the Junell Center in the first meeting between the two teams. ASU was up 41-31 at halftime after shooting 53.6 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes which included five 3-pointers. Kenny Williams led the Rams with 18 points and nine rebounds in the game, while Tommy Woolridge and Chantz Chambers added 12 points each. The Rams finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the field and went 20 of 34 from the free-throw line. ASU limited the Mustangs to 39.7 percent shooting and MSU struggled on free throws by going 12 of 24 from the line. Eddie D'Haiti led the Mustangs with 17 points and six rebounds. The game's result took both team's conference record to 3-2 early in LSC play.
 
ANGELO STATE RAM REPORT (16-7, 6-5 LSC)

The Rams enter this week in a tie for third place in the conference standings with ENMU with three games remaining in the regular season. ASU, which has solidified its first winning season in three seasons, is 6-5 away from San Angelo this season and is averaging 74.8 points per game and has limited its opposition to 70.4 points per game. The Rams have a plus-4.6 rebounding advantage over their opponents in conference play.

ASU ranks third in the conference in scoring offense and second in field goal percentage, while it also ranks third in offensive and defensive rebounding and team assists. The Rams are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have conference road wins over West Texas A&M and Cameron.

RAM RUNDOWN

Kenny Williams has proved to be one of the best players in the nation throughout the season and enters this week leading the Lone Star Conference with 17.7 points per game and nine double-doubles. He is second in the conference with 8.3 rebounds per game and leads ASU with 21 blocked shots which ranks eighth in the conference. Williams, who is a senior from St. Louis, is averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in conference play. He has scored in double digits in 22 of 23 games this season and has scored over 20 in 10 games. A LSC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week selection this season, he also has 20 games of five or more rebounds and has nine double digit rebounding games. His season-high in points came in a 28-point effort against East Central in the season-opener and he recorded a season-high 15 rebounds against ENMU last month in Portales, N.M. Williams is shooting 47.5 percent from the field which ranks 14th in the conference.

Bryan Hammond has been one of the most consistent players throughout the conference this season and is averaging 11.6 points per game throughout the year and 13.7 points per game in conference play. He ranks third in the LSC with 106 assists and has scored 20 or more point in three of the past five games. Hammond scored a season-high 21 points last Wednesday against Tarleton State when he went 7-for-13 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. A senior from New Orleans, he is shooting 48.7 percent from the field this season and 74.7 percent from the free-throw line (74 of 99). A two-year starter for the Rams after transferring from Nicholls State, Hammond has recorded 182 career assists and has scored in double digits 13 times this season. He established a new career-high with nine assists last Saturday in Commerce.

Tommy Woolridge is coming off a 20-point performance against Commerce where he hit three 3-pointers. A junior from Chicago, Woolridge is averaging 9.6 points per game throughout the season and is averaging 11.6 points per game in conference play. He has scored in double figures 10 times this season, including a season-high 32 points at Cameron last month. Woolridge was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 7th and Jan. 27th. He leads the Rams with 35 3-pointers and is shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc (35 of 83). Chris Talkington is second on the team with 25 3-pointers made. He is averaging 10.1 points per game in conference play and 7.7 points per game throughout the season. Talkington, a senior from Grand Prairie, transferred from Nicholls State along with Hammond. He has averaged 9.3 points per game in 43 games in his career at ASU and has made 68 3-pointers over that time.

Daniel Skinner is second on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game and is also averaging 7.2 points per game this season. A junior from Dallas, Skinner has scored in double figures eight times this season and has grabbed five or more rebounds in 14 times this season. He recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against York College earlier this season. Omari Gudul also recorded a double-double against York College with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Gudul had started 18 games this season and is averaging 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. A sophomore from the Congo, Gudul scored a season-high 14 points two weeks ago against ENMU at the Junell Center. He has secured five or more rebounds in eight games.

Chantz Chambers, Reggie Sutton, Thomas Brandsma and Ryan Marsh are averaging over 10 minutes per game this season and have each added a spark to the lineup. Chambers, a freshman from Louisiana, is averaging 5.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He has scored in double digits four times this season and scored a season-high 13 against Northern New Mexico. Chambers will also compete in the long jump for the ASU Track & Field team this spring. Marsh is second on the team with 17 blocked shots and is averaging 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in his senior season. He had a season-high four blocked shots in the first meeting against Commerce and had a season-high six rebounds against West Texas A&M on Jan. 15 when he also had three blocks. Brandsma is averaging 3.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in his first season at ASU after transferring from McMurry along with Williams. A Colleyville native, he scored a season-high 11 points against A&M-Commerce in early January and recorded six rebounds last week against Tarleton State. Sutton, a sophomore from San Angelo, is averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 12 points against West Texas A&M at the Junell Center and has scored in double digits in four games this season.
 
MIDWESTERN STATE MUSTANG REPORT (17-5, 9-2 LSC)

The Mustangs come into the midweek game riding a six-game winning streak with three of those victories coming in overtime. The latest win for MSU was an 81-79 overtime win over Eastern New Mexico last Saturday in Portales, N.M. when Kevin Wagner took the ball the length of the court for the game-winner.

MSU enters the game scoring 74.5 points per game and have limited its opposition to 68.0 points per game. The Mustangs have a plus-8.0 rebounding margin advantage with a 530-440 total for the season. The team is shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 34.0 percent on 3-pointers (151 for 444) and 63.5 percent from the free-throw line (324 of 515). Defensively, MSU has limited opponents to shooting 40.9 percent from the field and have 96 blocks (4.2 per) and 151 steals (6.6 per).

Monzaigo Williams leads the Mustangs this season with 17.0 points per game and 101 assists in his senior year. A California native, Williams is a 6-foot-0 guard who started his collegiate career at Western Texas College. He is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game and also leads his team with 41 assists. A sharp shooter, he is shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 43.0 percent on 3-pointers (46 of 107). Williams is scoring 16.8 points per game in conference play.

DeJuan Plummer has played a reserve role that all teams look for. A starter of only one game this season, Plummer is averaging 22.7 minutes off the bench and has provided 10.7 points per game in that role. A Michigan native in his senior season, he has also provided 45 assists and 13 steals for the Mustangs. Xavier Blackburn, a 6-foot-4 junior from Louisiana, joins Williams and Plummer in double-figure scoring with 10.0 points per game. Blackburn, who was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday, leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game and also has 18 steals and 20 assists. He has averaged 11.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in LSC play.

Eddie D'Haiti is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per game and is also providing 4.9 rebounds per game. He has 13 assists, 11 blocked shots and 15 steals. Cam Adderley has started all 23 games along with D'Haiti and is averaging 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Adderley is a senior guard from the Bahamas and has also contributed 24 assists and 17 steals. Derrell Gibbs has started 22 games this season (along with Williams) has averaged 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 points per game.

Williams, Blackburn, D'Haiti and Adderley have started all 11 games in conference play, while Gibbs has started 10. The Mustangs are scoring 75.9 points per game in LSC action and have a plus-10.3 rebounding advantage per game (489-376 total).

Following their game against the Rams, the Mustangs will travel to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday before finishing the regular season next Saturday at Cameron.
 
ASU's SEASON NOTES

The Rams have experienced a resurgence this season after going 7-19 last season with these accomplishments already on record: The Angelo State basketball team started the season with a 10-0 record for the first time in program history. The previous best start to a season was 7-0 in the 1981-82, 1993-94 and 2008-09 seasons… Along with the best start to a season, the 10-0 record also provided the first 10-game winning streak at any point in a season at Angelo State. The 10-game winning streak surpassed the previous program records of nine-game streaks in the 1987-88 and 2000-01 seasons… Angelo State was ranked No. 22 in the nation after its strong start to the season, finding itself in the national polls for the first time in five seasons. Angelo State has now been nationally ranked 10 times in program history. ASU's 1983-84 team was ranked five times throughout its season and maintains the highest ranking in program history at No. 13 in the Jan. 16, 1984 poll. ASU was ranked once in the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons at No. 25, but dropped out the next week and were unable to get back into the rankings. The 2008-09 Rams were in the polls twice in their season, first at No. 25 on Dec. 16, 2008 and then No. 23 on Feb. 24, 2009. Kenny Williams was selected as one of the best dunkers in the nation and is currently competing in the facebook.com/CollegeSlam "Dark Horse Dunker" competition. The first round of the competition ends on Monday, Feb. 24 when the field of 16 will be cut to eight. Fans can vote daily for Williams at www.facebook.com/CollegeSlam. The winner of the competition will compete at the NCAA Division I Final Four being hosted in Dallas on April 3.