SAN ANGELO – Round two of Lone Star Conference play is here.
The No. 7/6-ranked Angelo State Rams (19-1, 7-0 LSC) went through the first round of conference play unblemished and bring a program-record 14-game winning streak into an 8 p.m. game on Wednesday against West Texas A&M at the Junell Center. ASU earned an 88-60 win over the Buffs (13-8, 3-4 LSC) on Jan. 14 in Canyon and is 13-0 on its home court this season. The Rams jumped out early on the Buffs in the first game, leading by 21 at halftime, before taking the 28-point win.
The Rams are 24-2 over the past two seasons at the Junell Center under the leadership of head coach
Chris Beard and associate head coach
Cinco Boone and have won their last 14 home games dating back to last season. ASU has outscored its opponents by an average of 30 points at home this season in those 13 games and is averaging 94.4 points per game and has a 54.2 field-goal percentage. Opponents have been limited to a 37.0 field-goal percentage in front of San Angelo fans and to only 64.4 points per game. Â
The Buffs are on a two-game winning streak with victories over Langston and Eastern New Mexico last weekend and are 4-5 away from their home court. WT is fifth in the conference standings after the first round of LSC play.
"West Texas A&M is a good team," Beard said. "They have a balance of three experienced players and several talented new younger guys. They are one of the best shooting teams in the conference. We will need to defend at a high level and execute offensively to compete at our best on Wednesday. Each game is different. From a coaching and playing standpoint, you study the first game but you realize each game can be different."Â
The Rams lead the nation with a 54.5 field-goal percentage and a 27.6 scoring margin advantage this season and are second in the nation defensively by limiting opponents to a 37.9 field-goal percentage. ASU is third in the country with a 1.61 assists-to-turnover margin, fifth in total assists (394), sixth in rebound margin (10.0 per game) and seventh in defensive rebounds per game (29.40). A plus-5.1 turnover margin has the team at ninth nationally and its 192 steals ranks first in the conference and 18th throughout Division II. ASU's 19.7 team-assists per game tops the LSC and is sixth nationally.
Angelo State is ranked No. 7 by the NABC which is the highest ranking in program history. ASU has been ranked seven times this season and for six straight weeks. The Rams entered the polls at No. 23 on Nov. 25, dropped out after a 70-67 road loss at Colorado Mesa but reemerged at No. 22 on Dec. 27. The climb up the national rankings is currently the highest in program history which was previously No. 13 in 1984 before this season.
Approching the 20-Win MilestoneProgram 20-win seasons22-7 (1983-84)
22-11 (1987-88)
22-8 (2000-01)
20-9 (2008-09)
RAMS IN THE ALL-TIME NATIONAL RANKINGSIn the NABC National Rankings: 17 (No. 14, Jan. 2, 1984; No. 17, Jan. 9, 1984; No. 13, Jan. 16, 1984; No. 15, Jan. 23, 1984; No. 17, Jan. 30, 1984; No. 25, Feb. 26, 2001; No. 25, Jan. 28, 2002; No. 25, Dec. 16, 2008; No. 23, Feb. 24, 2009; No. 22, Dec. 10, 2013;
No. 23, Nov. 25, 2014; No. 22, Dec. 27, 2014; No. 19, Jan. 6, 2015; No. 14, Jan. 13, 2015; No. 11, Jan. 20, 2015; No. 8, Jan. 27, 2015; No. 7, Feb. 3, 2015)
In the D2SIDA Media Poll National Rankings: 6 (No. 16, Dec. 2, 2014, No. 19, Dec. 30, 2014; No. 15, Jan. 6, 2015; No. 10, Jan. 13, 2015; No. 8, Jan. 20, 2015; No. 7, Jan. 27, 2015;
No. 6, Feb. 4, 2015)
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ANGELO STATE RAM ROSTER REPORTDemario Mayfield leads the Rams this season with 16.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and has eight double-doubles. One of only eight players in the nation with a triple-double on his resume, Mayfield has scored 20 or more points in six games and has six or more rebounds in 13 games this season. A senior from Royston, Georgia, he scored a season-best 23 points in wins over Colorado Mesa, Western State Colorado and Texas-Permian Basin. He scored 17 points and had five rebounds against the Buffs in their first meeting. He recorded his triple-double with 14 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds against Arlington Baptist. He is coming off scoring 12 points and securing eight rebounds in the win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is currently second in the conference in rebounding and fifth in scoring.
Chris Jones leads the conference with 105 assists and 55 steals and is second in the LSC with a 62.1 field-goal percentage. Jones, who matched his season-best with 23 points last Saturday against Texas A&M-Kingsville, has recorded four or more assists in 16 games and has three or more steals in 13 games. A senior from Dallas, Jones is averaging 15.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game for the Rams. He's scored in double digits in 18 of 20 games this season and recorded a season-best 12 assists against York College. He is a three-time LSC Defensive Player of the Week winner and has also earned one LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor. Jones scored 18 points and had five rebounds and two assists in the first matchup against the Buffs.
Marsell Holden is leading the Rams with 58 3-pointers this season and is also averaging 14.2 points per game. Holden is second in the LSC with his 58 3-pointers and is coming off a 13-point performance against the Javelinas. He scored a season-best 26 points against ENMU earlier this season and has scored in double digits in the past five games. He has 12 games with three or more 3-pointers, including a season-high seven 3-pointers against Arkansas-Monticello. A senior from Farrell, Pennsylvania, Holden is shooting 43.0 percent on his 135 3-point attempts and is shooting 49.0 percent (95 of 194) from the field.
Raijon Kelly is 28 of 31 from the free-throw line (90.3 percent) and is averaging 10.9 points per game. Kelly has scored in double-digits in 12 games this season and has recorded four or more assists in nine games. A senior from Minnesota, Kelly is shooting 59.3 percent (86 of 145) from the field and has 72 assists and 17 steals this season. He is averaging 3.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game and is third in the conference with his 2.77 assists-to-turnover ratio. Kelly scored 11 points and had six rebounds against the Buffs in the first meeting between the two teams in Canyon.
Tommy Woolridge went 2 of 4 on 3-pointers and scored eight points on Saturday against the Javelinas and is averaging 5.0 points per game. Woolridge has hit 18 3-pointers this season and has made 55 shots from beyond the arc in his two seasons at ASU. A senior from Chicago, Woolridge led ASU with 37 3-pointers last season and has also provided 20 assists and 19 steals this season. He scored a season-best 14 points after hitting 3 of 4 of his 3-pointers in ASU's win at West Texas A&M earlier this season.
Omari Gudul has scored in double digits in the past three games, including 11 points last Saturday against Kingsville after scoring 12 against Commerce and Cameron. Gudul, who is in his second season with the Rams, is averaging 8.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. An inside force, he's shooting 66 of 99 from the field (66.7 percent) and has 101 rebounds this season. Gudul went for 10 points and seven rebounds against the Buffs in the first game between the two teams.
Bilal Richardson has started the last eight games for ASU and is averaging 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. A junior from Atlanta, Richardson recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 points against Arkansas-Monticello and scored a season-best 15 points against York College.
Brentine Taylor is adding 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Rams and is coming off scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds against the Javelinas. Taylor scored a season-best 13 points at McMurry and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds against ENMU.
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WEST TEXAS A&M BUFF REPORTThe Buffs (13-8, 3-4 LSC) come into San Angelo on a two-game winning streak following a 92-71 non-conference win over Langston last Tuesday and then a 76-73 victory against ENMU on Saturday in Portales. WT is averaging 78.4 points per game this season and leads the conference with 139 3-pointers made and 571 3-pointers attempted. The Buffs have made 201 of 571 shots from beyond the arc and are shooting 44.7 percent from the field. ASU is the 18th best team in the nation at defending the 3-point shot, limiting opponents to 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Rams held WT to 7 of 24 (29.2 percent) on its 3-point attempts in the first matchup and also owned the glass with a 41-27 rebounding margin. Â
WT is 4-5 away from Canyon this season with a 3-4 away record and a 1-1 neutral-court record. The Buffs fell 71-59 last season at the Junell Center. This will be the first game in San Angelo for new WT head coach Tom Brown who is in his first season with the Buffs. WT has road-wins in conference play against TAMUK and ENMU.
Like the Rams, WT has four players averaging in double figures this season with David Chavlovich leading the way with 16.0 points per game. A true freshman from Arlington, Chavlovich leads the LSC with 66 3-pointers this season and has attempted 260 shots which also tops the conference. An Arlington Bowie product, Chavlovich is averaging 3.30 3-pointers per game and has also contributed 71 assists. He was limited to six points against the Rams in the first matchup.
Tez Dumars is second on the team with 15.7 points per game, including scoring 11 points against Angelo State. Dumars is a senior from Dallas who played with
Chris Jones at Lakeview Centennial and helped lead the team to back-to-back Class 5A state championship appearances. Dumars is shooting 41.3 percent from the field on 247 shot attempts and has made 28 of 100 of his 3-point attempts. He has also supplied 24 steals and 45 assists. Miles Gatewood is adding 14.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his senior season. Gatewood leads WT with 86 assists this season and has made 45 3-pointers.
Antjuan Ball, who was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week after recording double-doubles against Langston and ENMU last week, is averaging 12.4 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per game. Ball is a senior from Alabama who leads WT with a 55.7 field-goal percentage and 155 total rebounds. Carl White, a freshman from Chicago, is fifth on the team with 8.1 points per game and is also pulling down 5.0 rebounds per game. White went to the same high school (Edwin G. Foreman HS) as
Tommy Woolridge, but because of their age difference the two were not teammates at the Chicago high school.
The Buffs will return to action by hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday at the First United Bank Center in Canyon after playing the Rams.
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