STEPHENVILLE – Angelo State is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history after earning a 66-49 win over Midwestern State in the NCAA Division II South Central Championship semifinals on Sunday at Wisdom Gym and will now play Tarleton State in the regional finals on Tuesday with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

The Rams (28-5) held the Mustangs (22-9) to a 27.4 field-goal percentage, while ASU shot 53.3 percent from the field and 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) on 3-pointers. Chris Jones recorded his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds and also had six assists and a blocked shot. Demario Mayfield also scored 17 points and added six rebounds, while Marsell Holden went for 12 points and Brentine Taylor led the bench with seven points.

ASU advanced to the regional finals after taking down Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday in the quarterfinals before eliminating the Mustangs in the semifinals on Sunday. The Rams will play top-seeded Tarleton State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the regional finals after the Texans advanced with an 84-62 win over Colorado-Colorado Springs on Sunday. ASU and TSU split their regular-season series with the home team winning each game. It will be the first time the two programs have met in the NCAA tournament. 

"We'll have plenty of time after the season is over to reflect on what we've accomplished, but right now we are focused on the next game and what is still possible for this group of guys," Beard said. "It is humbling though to be in the position we are in right now. We understand how strong this region is and how tough the Lone Star Conference is. To be one of two teams in the region still standing right now is pretty amazing. I'm proud of our players and our coaches for all the hard work they've put into this and we're not done yet."

The Rams are now 3-5 all-time at the NCAA tournament in five appearances and are one win away from advancing to the Elite Eight which will be played from March 25-28 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
 

Post by Angelo Sports.

Jones shot 4-for-6 from the field, including going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and also went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Shooting 59.9 percent from the field this season, Jones came into the game having made only eight 3-pointers the entire year. With MSU giving him space, the 3-point shot was there and he took it.

"I prefer the 15-footer, but at times I have to step back and shoot a 3 to stretch the floor," Jones said. "The confidence my teammates have in me gives me my confidence."

Mayfield, who has now scored in double digits in 30 games, shot 7-for-11 from the field, while Holden went 2-for-6 from beyond the arc snapping a streak of back-to-back games where he had hit six 3-pointers. Kelly and Gudul each added four points and played strong defense. Bretson McNeal led the Mustangs with 16 points, while Xavier Blackburn added 12 points and four rebounds.

Midwestern State came out fast on the Rams and led 6-0 before Bilal Richardson hit an inside shot to stop the run and then made a free throw after being fouled on the shot. MSU was up 10-3 four minutes into the game before Holden hit his first 3-pointer and then Raijon Kelly hit a jumper and Taylor hit two free throws to tie the game at 10. The Rams took their first lead of the game at 12-10 on a dunk by Omari Gudul off an assist from Kelly and the Rams. At 16-16 after a series of plays, the Rams went on a 16-3 run over the next four minutes with shots from Mayfield and Taylor and two 3-pointers from Jones. ASU led 37-25 at halftime and the game only crept into single digits once in the second half.

The Rams, who led by as many as 22 points in the second half, held an opponent under 30 percent shooting for the fourth time this season and earned their third win over MSU this season. ASU had never beat the Mustangs twice in a season in program history, let alone three times. Offensively, the Rams have shot over 50 percent 23 times in 33 games this season.

"I thought we fought and overcame some adversity when we got into some foul trouble with our big guys," Beard said. "Give Midwestern credit for that. They are one of the best rebounding teams in the conference and we knew they were going to be tough at the basket. We did a great job of team-rebounding though. Chris Jones had 10 rebounds from the point guard spot which is a great stat that we needed. Demario Mayfield gets a lot of credit which he deserves, but I don't think he gets enough credit for his rebounding. Demario is a guard who will be playing somewhere next year as a guard. But for our team he does what we ask him to do, which is to play at forward and rebound the ball. They had a great game rebounding. We are a physical team too and take pride in the way we battle. Everyone was going to have to battle and you couldn't leak out and you were going to get popped around. I thought we showed up and fought tonight."

Jones led the Rams at halftime with 10 points and also had two rebounds and an assists, while Holden had six points on 2-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc and Mayfield and Taylor each had five points. Kelly had four points and three rebounds.

The Rams had a 37-25 lead at halftime after shooting 54.5 percent from the field, including going 4-for-8 on 3-pointers and limiting the Mustangs to 29.4 percent from the field and to 1-for-9 on their 3-pointers. ASU, which also led the second game between the two teams on Feb. 18 by 37-22, went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in a drastic difference from their quarterfinal game against Commerce when they went 6-for-14 from the free-throw line in the first half. ASU was outrebounded by the Mustangs 22-13 in the first half, including a 14-3 offensive-rebounding advantage which was bolstered by their 29.4 percent shooting. Despite the rebounding difference, the teams were even at nine points each on second-chance points.
  
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
"Congrats to Midwestern State. They are always a part of the fight and have the kind of program that we are trying to build at Angelo State in our second year. They are a regular in the NCAA regional and had another great year. We have a lot of respect for their program."