SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 5/6 Angelo State men's basketball team defeated McMurry, 115-68, to tie the best start in program history on Monday night.

The Rams improved to 10-0 on the season with the win and tied the 2013-14 Rams team for the best start in program history. The 2013-14 men's team was coached by Chris Beard and Cinco Boone.  This was ASU's fifth game this season scoring at least 100 points. McMurry dropped to 1-8 on the year with the loss.

The offense was relentless in its attack with seven players recording double figures. The team sank an outstanding 96.4 percent (27-for-28) from the foul line and hit 54.2 percent (39-for-72) from the field and 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from outside the arc. The team out rebounded McMurry 51-28 and also spread the ball around for 22 assists.

In the first half the Rams got out to a slow start and McMurry kept it close entering the first media timeout tied at 12. McMurry would battle back to retake its last lead of the game at 19-18. A Shelton Boykin jumper from inside the paint would start ASU off on a 10-0 run and the Rams would not look back. ASU would enter the half with a 19 point lead.

After the half the Rams did not let up and steadily increased its lead of the War Hawks throughout the second half. A 19-5 run to open the second half would put the game on its way to being well out of reach at 74-42. At the 2:08 mark with a 40 point lead (108-68) a deep 3-pointer from Bennett kicked off a final 6-0 run for the team which included three free throws from Napoleon Onyeje Jr. and a fast break lay-up by Shaquan Rhoades, who was also lead the squad with six assists.

Shelton Boykin led the offense against the War Hawks scoring 19 total points on the night. The junior was 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-3 from the foul line. Defensively, he recorded three steals and added 10 rebounds to secure his second double-double of the season.

Tre Bennett tied Boykin for the team high with 19 points on the night. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line which was a team high. In addition, the senior tallied four assists and a steal.Omari Gudul knocked down a team third 16 points on the night. He was 5-10 from the field and also had a perfect night from the foul line, hitting 6-6 free throws.  The senior marked seven rebounds while also coming up with a block and a steal for the defense.

Gustavs Puhovs, Quay King and DeVonte' Pratt also hit the double-figure point mark against McMurry. Puhovs was 3-for-6 from long range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line and totaled 13 points. He pulled down five boards and added two assists for the night. King also hit three from beyond the arc and totaled 11 overall points for the night. Pratt finished with 11 total points, two assists and pocketed a team high three steals.

Thomas Tshikaya was a wall on defense and was the seventh player to score double-digits. He pulled down the second most rebounds with nine total boards with seven of those coming on the defensive side of the ball. The French native also led the team with three block and three steals. His 11 points came on 5-for-7 performance from the field and a single free throw. 

Rams return to the court on Friday, Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. CST to take on Drury and follow it up with a game against No.17 Rollins in the Holiday Hoops Classic on Saturday, December 19 at 11 a.m PST/ 1 p.m. CST in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both games will be broadcasted on 1260AM KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.