LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The No. 4/6 Angelo State men's basketball team topped the No. 16 Rollins Tars 80-76 in its final game of the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas Saturday afternoon.

One day after claiming the best season start in program history the team improved its record to 12-0 on the year. For the third consecutive game the Rams finish a game with a double-figure point differential in its favor. With the loss the Rollins Tars have slid to 9-3 on the season.

"I think it was a great win and a great weekend for our team," commented ASU Head Men's Basketball Coach Cinco Boone. "I still don't think this team has played its best forty minutes of basketball and that is what's scary. We still have so much to get batter at, but to have a 22 point lead against a No. 16 team today and a 12 point victory yesterday against a good Drury team, we are very happy to be where we are at right now."

The ASU offense had five players score in double figures with the team also distributing the ball 20 times for the afternoon. ASU shot 44.0 percent from the field sinking 48 points from inside the paint against a well versed zone defense. The Rams continue its success from the foul line hitting 78.9 percent from the foul line for the game. Defensively, the Rams had two players with double-digit boards and three players mark two steals a piece.   

The first half started with Quay King sinking a big shot from beyond the arc for his 26^th of the season.  Rollins would quickly strike back and give the Tars its first lead of the game. Down by two, 11-9, Omari Gudul pulled down a board off of a Stedman Allen lay-up and followed with a big dunk to bring the two teams back to even. He would then knock down a jumper at the 13:54 mark from inside the paint to regain the lead for ASU. This would be the last time the Tars would hold the lead for the game. A Stedman Allen free throw would take the team into the half with a one point lead (37-36).

As in the first, King dropped in a 3-pointer right out of the gate, which kicked off the second half and a 7-0 run. After three points from the Tars, ASU followed with another lengthy12-2 tear that saw points from Shelton Boykin, Tre Bennett and finished with a tip in from Gudul. With 7:05 left to play in the game, Thomas Tshikaya would roll in a lay-up despite being fouled. He then gave the team its largest lead of the game (22 points) with the ensuing foul shot which place the score at 70-48. Despite Rollins' best efforts it would not be able to close the gap between the Rams to less than 10 points.

Allen's stellar play throughout the two day Holiday Hoops Classic earned him the tournament MVP honors. He led the team in scoring against the Tars with 16 point and also earned his second double-double with 10 total boards. This was his second consecutive game with recording a double-double. The New York native hit 6-17 from the field and was 4-6 on free throws. He assisted the defense with two steals on the afternoon fourth game of the season recording multiple steals.

Gudul, who received player of the game honors and was named to the all-tournament team, took the team lead with his third double-double on the season scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for the Rams. He was 6-8 from inside the paint and 1-2 from the foul line. The senior also led the team with three blocks and was one of three players to pocket a pair of steals.

 Bennett, Tshikaya, and Prince Foster rounded out the top scorers of the game. Bennett marked a team third 12 points and was an outstanding 7-8 from the foul line. He was one of three to lead the team with four assists and also added a steal to his numbers for the afternoon. Tshikaya knocked down 4-6 from the field and 3-3 from the charity line for a total of 11 points. He also tallied two assists and a team second two blocks to help the defense. Finally, Foster dropped in 10 points and was also one of three to lead the team with four assists. He also pulled down five boards and stole the ball twice for a share of the lead in total steals for the game.

Angelo State will take the court again after a little over a two week break to face Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas on January, 6 @ 7:30 p.m.