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No. 3 ASU (19-8) advanced to the semifinals with a win over Cameron on Thursday after the Mustangs (21-6) eliminated Texas A&M-Kingsville on Wednesday. The Rams beat MSU in the Junell Center with an 83-68 victory on Jan. 22 before the Mustangs took a 78-68 win at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Feb. 19. This will be the 67th meeting between the two schools with MSU holding a 44-23 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have split their last four meetings. This will be only the second time ASU and MSU have met in the LSC tournament with the Rams taking the previous meeting 104-90 in the 2001 semifinals in a game played in San Angelo.
 
No. 1 Tarleton State will meet No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce in the 8:30 p.m. semifinal on Friday. The championship game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday with the winner earning the LSC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. Teams not earning the automatic qualifier will learn their fate at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday during a selection show. 
 
ASU Tournament History
The Rams are making their 27th tournament appearance and first since the 2010 tournament. ASU has won three LSC tournament titles, reached the finals of the tournament six times and has a 16-23 all-time tournament record. The program won the LSC tournament title in 1989, 1988 and 1984. ASU's last tournament win before Thursday's victory over Cameron came in the 2001 tournament when they won 104-90 over Midwestern State in the semifinals after an 80-75 win over East Central in the quarterfinals hosted in San Angelo. The Rams fell 75-73 to West Texas A&M in the championship game. The last tournament win away from San Angelo came in a 65-53 quarterfinal win over Texas A&M-Kingsville in the 1994 tournament in Canyon.
 
ANGELO STATE QUOTES

Chris Beard //  Angelo State head coach
On playing against Midwestern State in the semifinals:
"We anticipate Midwestern playing its best game of the season tomorrow. They are a well-coached team with talented and experienced players. Our guys will compete. The team that plays more efficient and more productive will win. We have a lot of respect for Midwestern. Both teams are two wins away from a championship. We are looking forward to tomorrow's challenge and opportunity."
 
On the Rams competing for the Lone Star Conference Championship:
"Our team is excited to be playing in the post season. It has been a few years since ASU has played in the month of March. We are looking forward to the challenge and opportunity."
 
On Angelo State's mentality entering the Lone Star Conference Championship:
"All teams play hard in post-season tournaments. The teams that play smart and execute are the ones who have the best chance of winning.  Our focus is to have another productive week of practice and to try and play our best game of the season on Thursday."
 
Kenny Williams  //  Angelo State senior
On Angelo State's mentality entering the Lone Star Conference Championship:
"We are going in with a must-win mentality. All 15 of us have the same mentality with a laser focus and ready to take care of business. It's hard to beat a team three times in a season, but we're preparing and will be ready to play."
 
Chris Talkington  //  Angelo State senior
On Angelo State's mentality entering the Lone Star Conference Championship:
"March is a special time of the year, but we have to approach it the same way we have every game this season. There has to be strong mental focus on it."
 
Nash Nelson  //  Angelo State sophomore
On Angelo State's mentality entering the Lone Star Conference Championship:
"All college basketball players live for March. This is when the good teams and players rise to the top. Our goal is real simple and it's to win every single game that we play. Our goal is to go there and win three games."
 
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.
 
ASU, MSU Round 2: The Mustangs evened the regular-season series with a 78-68 win in Wichita Falls on Feb. 19. Angelo State took a 32-30 lead into halftime, but MSU shot 57.6 percent from the field in the second half and shot 80.6 percent from the free-throw line (29-for-36) to earn the win on its Senior Night. Kenny Williams led the Rams with 18 points, while Tommy Woolridge and Omari Gudul had 10 points each for the Rams.
 
ANGELO STATE RAM REPORT (19-8, 8-6 LSC)
ASU enters the semifinals of the LSC tournament averaging 73.1 points per game and limiting opponents to 68.7 points per game. The Rams ranked second in the LSC throughout the regular season by shooting 47.1 percent from the field and holding the opposition to 40.5 percent shooting.
 
The Rams, who are ranked No. 8 in this week's NCAA DII South Central rankings, came into the LSC tournament having won its last two games with victories over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Cameron and are now 3-0 this season in neutral-court games (64-59 over Cameron, 71-69 over Arkansas-Fort Smith, 72-62 over East Central). ASU is shooting 65.8 percent from the free-throw line (478 of 726) and 34.3 percent on 3-pointers (127 of 370). The Rams experienced a resurgence this season after going 7-19 last season. The list of accomplishments include starting the season 10-0 for the first time in program history and establishing the longest winning streak at any point of a season at 10 before falling at Arkansas Tech. The Rams were ranked No. 22 in the nation after the 10-0 start to the season which was the first time ASU has been ranked since 2009.
 
This is their first semifinal appearance since 2001 and the team would have its first 20-win season since the 2008-09 campaign with a win.
 
RAM RUNDOWN
Bryan Hammond entered the postseason averaging 12.0 points per game this season and scoring 20 or more points in four of the past eight games. He led the Rams by matching his season-high with 22 points against Cameron and also added six assists and seven rebounds. Hammond, a senior from New Orleans, is coming off 16 points against Texas A&M-Kingsville in the regular-season finale and a 21-point game against Cameron in the final game at the Junell Center.  He leads the Rams with 124 assists which ranked third in the LSC and was fourth in the LSC with 4.5 assists per game this season. He is shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 74.2 percent from the free-throw line (92 of 124). He established a career high with nine assists two weeks ago against Texas A&M-Commerce and has recorded five or more assists in 13 games this season. Hammond and Kenny Williams have both started all 27 games for the Rams this season.
 
Kenny Williams has established himself as one of the most complete players in the Lone Star Conference this season, leading the league with 17.3 points per game and ranking second with 8.2 rebounds per game. He was named the LSC's Newcomer of the Year and to the LSC first team on Tuesday. Williams, a senior from St. Louis, leads the LSC with 10 double-doubles after going for 13 points and 12 rebounds two weeks against Cameron. He scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Cameron on Thursday. He has led the Rams in scoring 15 times this season and has grabbed the most rebounds in 19 contests. He has also scored in double digits in 26 of 27 games this season and has secured five or more rebounds in 23 games. His 21 blocked shots leads ASU and he is shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line (108 of 144). He recorded a season-high 28 points against East Central in the first game of the season and had his double-doubles against ECU (28/10), York (27/11), Western New Mexico (12/10), McMurry (16/12), Arkansas-Fort Smith (22/13), Tarleton (25/10), ENMU (23/15), ENMU (22/10), Tarleton (14/12) and Cameron (13/12). Williams has earned one LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and two LSC Defensive Player of the Week awards.
 
The Rams are getting most of their points from deep-range from Chris Talkington and Tommy Woolridge this season. Talkington, a senior from Grand Prairie, is averaging 7.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. A transfer from Nicholls State along with Hammond, Talkington has made 29 3-pointers this season and is shooting 41.8 percent from beyond the arc. Talkington hit a key 3-pointer on Thursday to stop a Cameron run and finished the game with eight points. He scored a season-high 20 points at Cameron earlier this season by hitting three 3-pointers and going 8-for-8 from the field. Woolridge leads the team with 37 3-pointers this season and is averaging 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Woolridge scored a season-high 32 points at Cameron when he went 6-for-6 on 3-pointers. His 32 points are the most by any Ram throughout the season. He is shooting 40.2 percent on his 3-point attempts and has also contributed 28 assists. Woolridge scored nine points on Thursday, including hitting five free throws against the Aggies. Also a junior in his first season at ASU along with Woolridge, Daniel Skinner is averaging 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Skinner, a Dallas native and Jacksonville College transfer, has scored in double digits eight times this season and recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against York College. He scored a conference-high seven points and had five rebounds last week at Midwestern State.
 
ASU continues to get contribution for underclassmen who are providing help and gaining experience this season. Sophomores Omari Gudul, Thomas Brandsma, Reggie Sutton and Nash Nelson have each contributed and freshman Chantz Chambers has provided energy and production. Gudul has started 21 games this season at the forward position and is averaging 4.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. A native of the Congo, Gudul played his freshman season at Ranger College before transferring to ASU. He is coming off a six-rebound performance in Kingsville. Gudul had eight rebounds and had a career-high three blocked shots on Thursday against Cameron. He has recorded two double-doubles this season with a 13 point, 12-rebound performance against York College in non-conference play and went for 14 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern New Mexico three weeks ago at the Junell Center. Sutton has made five starts and is averaging 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. A San Angelo native, Sutton scored a season-high 12 points against West Texas A&M at home and is coming off a 10 point, seven-rebound performance against the Javelinas. Sutton has five double-digit games this season. Brandsma scored his season-high with 11 points against Commerce and is averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. A Colleyville native, he played high school basketball with Nelson. A reserve the first 22 games of the season, Nelson has started the past five games and played a season-high 28 minutes two weeks aog against Cameron. Nelson began his collegiate career at Harding last season before transferring to ASU. He has contributed 27 assists this season.
 
Chambers is averaging 4.6 points and has provided 22 assists and 11 steals in his freshman season. Chambers, a Shreveport native and long jumper on the ASU Track & Field team, has scored in double digits in four games this season. He scored a season-high 13 points against Northern New Mexico and a conference-high 12 points against Midwestern State at home. Along with youth providing contributions, seniors Ryan Marsh, Ice Asortse and Zach Jones have added depth. Marsh is second on the team with 17 blocked shots, while Asortse has 1.1 points per game and Jones is averaging 1.2 points per game.
 
Chris Beard Information
Angelo State is coached by Chris Beard who is in his first season at the school. Beard coached at McMurry last season, leading the War Hawks to a 19-10 record before being named ASU's fifth head coach in program history on March 22, 2013. Prior to McMurry, Beard was the head coach of the South Carolina Warriors of the American Basketball Association. He led the team to a 31-2 record, a Mid Atlantic Division Championship and an appearance in the ABA Finals. Beard was a part of the Texas Tech staff from 2001-2011 as an assistant coach under Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight and was promoted to associate head coach in 2008 under Pat Knight. Tech won 188 games and advanced to the postseason six times including four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the NIT Postseason Final Four. While Beard was at Tech, the Red Raiders had 11 student-athletes named all-conference and had 32 of its 34 student-athletes graduate with degrees. He was also the head coach at Seminole State College and Fort Scott Community College and served as a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word after earning his bachelor's from the University of Texas.