SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball survived a last minute shot to hang on to defeat St. Edward's 79-78 in the final game of the Ed Messbarger Classic held at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.
St. Edward's Trey Lindsey launched a 3-pointer that missed the mark as the buzzer sounded. The Rams held a 77-62 advantage with 4:37 left to play. St. Edward's Quinton Lilley scored back-to-back jumpers and a three by John Gramlich cut it to six.
Shelton Boykin hit two free throws to extend the lead back to eight but the Hilltoppers would score seven points in the five 2:25 before the final shot. ASU moved to 3-0 and home on the season and have not lost in Stephens Arena in the Junell Center in the last 21 games.
"It is huge to get this win," Boone said. "It is good to teach lessons and still get the win instead of teach lessons and get the loss. I hope we can get to the film room and cleanup some things and get better."
The Rams (5-0) used a sizable rebounding advantage (37-29) and 12 3-pointers in the win. The Hilltoppers (4-1) was able to force 20 ASU turnovers and scored 19 points. St. Edward's was able to take advantage in the paint by way of a 28-18 score.
"I thought in spurts we played good basketball," ASU head men's basketball coach
Cinco Boone said. "It was just kind of sporadic. We would play well and then St. Edward's would go on a run and we couldn't get stops. It was a game of runs and I was just happy we came out on top."
Tre Bennet paced the Rams with 20 points including four-of-six from behind the arch. The senior recorded a team high seven assists and grabbed three rebounds.
Shelton Boykin added 13 points while
Stedman Allen recorded 12 points and five rebounds.
Omari Gudul was the Rams top rebounder with 10 boards and contributed 10 points as well. ASU was able to get 19 points from its bench including 16 in the second half.
The Rams and Hilltoppers traded the lead six times in the first five minutes of the half. A
Prince Foster jumper made it 15-12 at the 15:05 mark and it was a lead ASU would not relinquish the rest of the way despite SEU's best efforts. The jumper sparked a 14-5 lead to push the lead to 12 at 29-17 capped off by an old fashioned three point play by Allen. ASU would find its rhythm from behind the arch as 12 of the Rams final 17 points came from downtown. Bennett hit three of the treys while Boykin added one to take a 46-33 lead at the break.
St. Edward's opened the second half on a 13-3- run to cut the deficit to just six at 52-46. Bennett's fourth three pointer of the night followed by a jumper by Allen pushed it back to an 11 point advantage. A 3-pointer by
Gustavs Puhovs sparked a 13-6 run over the next three minutes to extend the lead to 16 at 73-57.
Quay King hit a 3-pointer at the 4:51 mark to make it 77-62 before St. Edward's last gasp 16-2 run at the end of the game came up short.
The Rams will return to action at the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28 against Missouri S&T and Missouri Western State.
