STEPHENVILLE – The No. 19-ranked Angelo State Rams and Midwestern State Mustangs will meet at 5 p.m. tonight in the NCAA Division II South Central Championship semifinals featuring a matchup of Lone Star Conference rivals fighting for a spot in the Sweet 16 at Wisdom Gym.
 
The No. 6-seeded Rams (27-5) went 2-0 in the regular season against the perennial regional contending seventh-seeded Mustangs (22-8) who advanced in the tournament with a 58-56 win over No. 2-seeded Metro State on Saturday after ASU had eliminated Texas A&M-Commerce with an 85-79 victory in the opener. The Rams will be playing in the program's first-ever NCAA regional semifinal game, while MSU is looking to make its second straight trip to the finals and sixth in program history. This will be the first time ASU and MSU have met in the regional tournament, but for the 72nd overall time. The Mustangs own a 45-26 all-time advantage over the Rams, including ending ASU's season last year at the LSC tournament in the semifinal round.
 
The ASU-MSU winner will advance to the NCAA DII South Central Championship finals which will be played a 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Wisdom Gym. They will face the winner of the other semifinal game which has No. 1 Tarleton State playing No. 4 Colorado-Colorado Springs in tonight's second game. TSU eliminated St. Mary's on Saturday, while UCCS took out Colorado School of Mines to cap the first day of the regional tournament. 
 
ANGELO STATE IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
ASU is now 2-5 all-time in the national tournament after earning its quarterfinal win over Commerce on Saturday. The Rams are competing in their first regional tournament since 2009 and earned the program's first opening-round win. This is the first time ASU has played a regional tournament in the state of Texas after previously playing two regional tournaments in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, one in Topeka, Kansas and most recently playing in the 2009 tournament in Warrensburg, Missouri. The only previous national postseason win for the Rams in program history came in the 1989 tournament when they earned an 89-80 win over Northwest Missouri State in a consolation game at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. A win over Midwestern on Sunday would advance the Rams to the regional final for the first time in program history and move them one step closer to the program's first trip to the NCAA DII Elite Eight which will be played in Evansville, Indiana.
 
ASU AGAINST MIDWESTERN STATE (ROUND THREE)
Angelo State is 2-0 against the Mustangs this season with a 72-55 win on Jan. 21 in Wichita Falls before a 78-59 victory on Feb. 18 at the Junell Center. ASU shot 49.5 percent from the field in the previous two meetings, while limiting the Mustangs to 34.2 percent shooting. The Rams own an 82-73 rebounding advantage in the two games and have made 15 3-pointers to MSU's six 3-pointers. Demario Mayfield led the Rams with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the first meeting in Wichita Falls and then had 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the win in San Angelo. Chris Jones added 13 points and Raijon Kelly had 12 points in the last meeting against the Mustangs. The Rams swept the regular-season series over the Mustangs for the first time in program history this year. Game reports from both games are at the bottom of this preview.
 
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
The Rams enter the semifinals of the NCAA DII South Central Championship leading the nation with a 21.1 scoring margin advantage and are now third in the nation with a 52.9 field-goal percentage and fifth with a 39.6 defensive field-goal percentage. ASU is sixth in the nation with 560 assists and 23rd with 269 steals and its 4.2 turnover margin ranks 14th in the country. A 1.47 turnover-to-assist ratio ranks 11th in the nation along with their 17.5 assists per game average. The Rams, who have won four of their last five games, are averaging 85.3 points per game which ranks 12th in the nation and is highest-scoring average in the conference.
 
A SURGING PROGRAM
 
Angelo State has experienced a rapid resurgence over the past two seasons under the leadership of head coach  Chris Beard and associate head coach  Cinco Boone who inherited a program which had gone 7-19 the season before they arrived. In their two seasons, the Rams have amassed a 46-15 record and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation this season. ASU has already recorded a historic season with the most wins in a season in program history, along with running off a 16-game winning streak during the course of the campaign and are now in the NCAA regional semifinals for the first time in program history. Beard was named the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year last week and will be looking to lead the Rams to their first Elite Eight in program history with a cast of five seniors, five juniors, one sophomore and one freshman on the active roster. As an assistant at Texas Tech, Beard helped lead Tech to four NCAA tournaments but this will be the first NCAA tournament for all the players on the ASU roster.

The Rams entered the national tournament ranked No. 19 in the NABC poll and are now 5-3 this season against teams in the regional field, including a 2-0 record against MSU, a 1-1 record against TSU and now a 2-2 record against Commerce after eliminating the Lions on Saturday. The Rams are 3-1 in this year's postseason with wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville (83-73) and Cameron (76-53) in the conference tournament and then a loss to Commerce (68-61) in the conference tournament finals before the quarterfinal win.

RAM ROSTER REPORT

Marsell Holden drilled six 3-pointers in the quarterfinal win over Commerce and finished the game with 22 points on his 6-for-12 performance from beyond the arc. He has established a new single-season record at Angelo State for 3-pointers and now has 101 3-pointers after hitting six 3-pointers in the past two games. Holden, who is averaging 14.6 points per game, is shooting 43.7 percent from beyond the arc this season and has hit three or more 3-pointers in 20 games this season. His 101 3-pointers leads the LSC and was the 11th most in the nation entering the national tournament. He established a career-best with seven 3-pointers in a win over Arkansas-Monticello where he scored 23 points and has drilled six 3-pointers in three games now, most recently against the Lions in back-to-back games, and also in a game against Cameron where he scored 20 points. Holden had a career-high 26 points earlier this season against Eastern New Mexico where he went 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. A senior from Farrell, Pennsylvania, Holden has also added 38 assists and 33 steals this season. He averaged 10.5 points per game this season against Midwestern. He has scored in double digits in 27 games and has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season. Holden earned one LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and was named an LSC Honorable Mention selection last week.
 
Chris Jones scored 12 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals on Saturday in the quarterfinal win over Commerce. He earned Daktronics All-South Central and LSC first-team honors this season after leading the Rams with 155 assists and 72 steals this season to go along with averaging 15.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He is averaging 12.0 points and has seven assists in the previous two games against Midwestern State. Jones earned three LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and one LSC Offensive Player of the Week award in a season where he averaged 4.9 assists and 2.3 assists per game which both led the conference. Jones has recorded four or more assists in 22 games and has had eight assists in four games. He established his career-best in assists with 12 against York College where he also had 16 points for his only double-double of the season. Jones, a senior from Dallas, transferred to Angelo State this season after playing his first three seasons at North Texas. He scored a career-high 25 points in a win over West Texas A&M earlier this season and has scored in double digits in 29 of 32 games. He has scored 20 or more points in eight games, including leading the Rams with 21 points in the quarterfinals of the LSC tournament with 21 points against Texas A&M-Kingsville and then scoring 22 points in the semifinal win over Cameron where he also had five assists and seven rebounds. He was named to the LSC all-tournament team and currently ranks 19th in the nation with his team and conference-leading 59.5 field-goal percentage. Jones has shot over 60 percent in 16 games this season, including shooting 9 of 11 (81.8 percent) against Oklahoma Wesleyan, 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) against ENMU and 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) last Friday against Cameron in the semifinals of the LSC tournament. Jones' 72 steals rank second in program history behind only James Gray who had 81 steals in the 2000-01 season and his 155 assists are the fifth most in a season.

Demario Mayfield is coming off a career-best 24-point performance on Saturday against Commerce where he also added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mayfield, who earned Daktronics All-South Central second-team honors this season, averaged 21.5 points per game against Midwestern State this year, including scoring 23 points against the Mustangs at the Junell Center. He enters the semifinals of the NCAA tournament leading the Rams with 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds this season and was selected to the LSC first-team and to the conference's all-tournament team. Mayfield also has 127 assists and 50 steals, which ranks second on the team and second in the conference. He has scored in double digits in 29 of 32 games this season, including a previous season-best 23 points against Midwestern State, Texas-Permian Basin, Western State and Colorado Mesa. He has recorded 11 double-doubles this season, including going for 19 points and 14 rebounds in a quarterfinal win over Texas A&M-Kingsville at the conference tournament. Mayfield is the only LSC player to record a triple-double this season when he had 14 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in a win over Arlington Baptist. A senior from Royston, Georgia, Mayfield played his freshman season at Georgia and then two seasons at Charlotte before transferring to Angelo State where he is a graduate student. Along with his postseason honors, Mayfield earned two LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season and one LSC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Mayfield recorded his double-doubles this season against McMurry (14/11), Western State (23/11), UTPB (23/11), at McMurry (11/14), Arlington Baptist (14/10/13), Arkansas-Monticello (17/11), at Midwestern State (20/11), A&M-Commerce (16/11), West Texas A&M (20/13), at Tarleton State (12/13) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (19/14). His 11 double-doubles matches Marcus Hubbard (2005-06) for the third most in ASU's program history and is only behind Ed Wheeler who had 18 double-doubles in the 1992-93 season and 14 in the 1991-92 season. Mayfield is the only player in Angelo State history to record a triple-double.

Raijon Kelly enters the semifinals of the NCAA tournament averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Rams this season after scoring 14 points and having seven rebounds and three assists on Saturday against Commerce. Kelly, a senior from St. Paul, Minnesota, is shooting 53.3 percent this season and has recorded 17 double-digit scoring performances this season including a season-best 22 points earlier this season against ENMU. Kelly had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists against Arkansas Tech earlier this season and had a season-best eight rebounds in a win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. Kelly scored 10 points in the semifinal win over Cameron last Friday in Allen and is averaging13.0 points per game against MSU this season. He leads the Rams by shooting 90.7 percent (39-for-43) from the free-throw line this season and has made 30 3-pointers (41.7 percent) this season. Kelly is in his first season at Angelo State after playing his first three years at Samford University.

Omari Gudul is averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Rams in 19 starts and 32 games played. He had five points and four rebounds on Saturday in the win over Commerce. Gudul, who is a junior in his second season at ASU, scored 10 points last Wednesday against Kingsville in the quarterfinals of the LSC tournament and has scored in double digits in 10 games this season. He scored a season-best 15 points earlier this season at McMurry and had a season-high nine rebounds at Commerce. A native of the Congo, Gudul is shooting 64.3 percent from the field this season and is tied for the team lead with  Bilal Richardson with 22 blocked shots. Richardson, who is also a junior, is averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for the Rams in his first season in San Angelo. An Atlanta native, Richardson recorded a double-double earlier this season with 12 rebounds and 10 points against Arkansas-Monticello and contributed six points at the LSC tournament in the semifinals and finals. Richardson matched his season-best with three blocked shots against the Lions in the finals on Saturday at the conference tournament. He has three blocked shots now in three games.   Brentine Taylor has added depth inside all season for the Rams and is averaging 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game entering Sunday's game. A Cochran, Georgia native, Taylor scored a season-high 13 points earlier this season at McMurry and had a career-best seven rebounds in a win over ENMU. He has started three games this season and has played in all 31.  Taylor is shooting 57.9 percent from the field this season and has six blocked shots. He scored four points and had three rebounds in the win over Commerce on Saturday.

Tommy Woolridge and  Thomas Brandsma are the only two returners from last year's team who have played for the Rams this season and are both providing valuable minutes as reserves. Woolridge led the Rams last season in 3-pointers made and has hit 27 3-pointers this season and is averaging 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Woolridge has hit 64 3-pointers in his two seasons at ASU and scored a season-best 15 points on Senior Day against Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc and has also added 25 steals for the Ram defense. Brandsma transferred to ASU last season after playing his freshman season for Beard and Boone at McMurry and is averaging 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season. A Colleyville native, Brandsma had four rebounds and two points in the quarterfinal win over Commerce. A finance major, he earned a spot on the LSC All-Academic team this season.  DeQuavious Wagner is in his first season at ASU and has also been a valuable reserve player for the Rams throughout the season. A junior from Alexandria, Louisiana, Wagner is averaging 3.3 points and 1.3 assists per game after transferring from the University of Arkansas. A point guard, he has played in all 32 games this season and has recorded 42 assists and 20 steals for the Rams and scored a career-best 10 points in a win at Western New Mexico. Wagner has made 11 3-pointers this season and is shooting 36-for-76 (47.4 percent) from the field in his first season with the Rams. He had two points and an assists in the win over Commerce in the opening round.
 
Rams at the NCAA Tournament (Fifth Trip, 2-5 Overall Record)

1988 Tournament (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
L, 111-75 Southeast Missouri State
L, 87-84, South Dakota State (Consolation)
 
1989 Tournament (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
L, 65-60, Southeast Missouri State
W, 89-80, Northwest Missouri State (Consolation)
 
2001 Tournament (Topeka, Kansas)
L, 80-75, Northeastern State
 
2009 Tournament (Warrensburg, Missouri)
L, 89-84, Southwest Baptist
 
2015 Tournament (Stephenville, Texas)
W, 85-79, Texas A&M-Commerce
 
Angelo State Postseason Awards
LSC Coach of the Year:   Chris Beard
LSC First Team:   Chris Jones
LSC First Team:   Demario Mayfield
LSC Honorable Mention:   Marsell Holden
LSC All-Academic:   Thomas Brandsma
LSC All-Tournament Team:   Chris Jones
LSC All-Tournament Team:   Demario Mayfield
 
Angelo State In-Season Awards
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:   Chris Jones (11.18.2014)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:   Demario Mayfield (12.1.2014)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:   Chris Jones (12.8.2014)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:   Marsell Holden (12.22/2014)
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:   Chris Jones (1.6.2015)
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:   Chris Jones (1.12.2015)
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:   Demario Mayfield (1.26.2015)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:   Demario Mayfield (2.09.2015)
 
ANGELO STATE PROGRAM HISTORY
NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 5 (1988, 1989, 2001, 2009, 2015)
Lone Star Conference Tournament Titles: 3 (1984, 1988,1989)
Lone Star Conference Tournament Appearances: 28 (1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986,1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993,1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015)
In the NABC National Rankings:  22 (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; No. 4, Feb. 10, 2015; No. 10, Feb. 17, 2015; No. 15, Feb. 24, 2015; No. 17, March 3, 2015; No. 19, March 10, 2015)
In the D2SIDA Media Poll National Rankings: 11 (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. 3, 2015; No. 4, Feb. 10, 2015; No. 9, Feb. 17, 2015; No. 13, Feb. 24, 2015; No. 15, March 3, 2015)
20-Win Seasons: 5 (27-5; Current); (1983-84, 22-7); (1987-88, 22-11);
(2000-01, 22-8);  (2008-09, 20-9)
 
PREVIOUS GAME REPORTS AGAINST MIDWESTERN
 
Rams roll to 19-point win over Mustangs (Feb. 18, 2015)
SAN ANGELO – The No. 10/9-ranked Angelo State Rams established a new program record with their 23rd win of the season by knocking off Midwestern State 78-59 on Wednesday in a Lone Star Conference game in which they never trailed at the Junell Center.

The Rams (23-2, 10-1 LSC) also improved to 16-0 at home, swept the Mustangs (19-7, 8-4 LSC) in the regular-season series and surpassed the 10-win milestone in conference play for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The 23 wins are a program record which surpasses the 22 wins which was accomplished in the 1983-84, 1987-88, 2000-01 and 2008-09 seasons.

"This is special and humbling because we have so much respect for the players and coaches who came before us in this program," ASU head coach  Chris Beard said. "Any time our team can be mentioned among the other great teams that made this program it is humbling and something our guys should take a lot of pride in."

Demario Mayfield led the Rams with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while  Chris Jones went for 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Mayfield, who leads the Rams by averaging 16.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season, matched his career-best with the 23 points after going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers.  Raijon Kelly added 12 points and three assists, going 4-for-6 from the field including hitting both of his 3-point attempts.  Marsell Holden struggled with his shot from beyond the arc at 2 of 8 and finished the game with eight points, while  Omari Gudul added 11 points on a night where he went 5-for-5 from the field and  Brentine Taylor went for seven points and five rebounds.
 
No. 11/8 Rams earn road win over Mustangs (Jan. 21, 2015)
WICHITA FALLS –  Demario Mayfield recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the No. 11/8 Angelo State Rams to a 72-55 Lone Star Conference win over No. 23/20 Midwestern State on Wednesday at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

The Rams (16-1, 4-0 LSC) earned their 11th straight win which establishes a new program winning-streak record, while the Mustangs (15-4, 4-1 LSC) had their 11-game winning streak snapped and are now 9-1 on their home court this season. ASU finished the game shooting 46.6 percent and limited MSU to 33.3 percent (18 of 54). The Rams, who owned a 30-16 advantage in points in the paint and are now the only undefeated team in LSC play remaining, had a 28-26 halftime lead in a low-scoring first half before outscoring the Mustangs by 15 in the second half.

"Midwestern is a very physical team and we knew this was going to be a hostile environment to play in," Mayfield said. "We knew that we were going to have to stay poised throughout the game and stay with our game plan. It was a low-scoring game in the first 10 minutes and we just needed to calm down. Coach had to burn a timeout early in the first half to calm our emotions and tell us to just execute the game plan. We were able to do that the rest of the game to get this big win."

Marsell Holden added 13 points, three assists and three steals, while  Raijon Kelly had 14 points and four rebounds in the game. Holden went 3 of 5 on 3-pointers, while Mayfield made 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. Mayfield went 8 of 16 from the field and had eight defensive rebounds and two assists in the game.  Chris Jones added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, while  Omari Gudul had eight points. ASU finished the game 27 of 58 from the field, including hitting 6 of 13 shots from beyond the arc. The Rams also had a 41-37 rebounding advantage and a 12-0 advantage in fast-break points.