SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No.15 Angelo State basketball team defeated West Texas A&M in a come-from-behind 85-75 victory on Wednesday night at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.

ASU improved to 13-2 on the season and 1-2 in the Lone Star Conference with Wednesday's win. The offense shot 45.1 percent from the field and 79.1 percent from the free throw line hitting a stellar 34-of-43 from the charity stripe as a team. The Rams also had four players score in double-figures. Defensively, ASU tallied a total of 12 steals on the night and spread the rebounding duties around with eight players pulling down multiple boards. The Buffs slid to 12-7 overall and 1-3 in the conference with the loss.

"Our guys had a great effort in the second half and it feels good to get a conference win," commented ASU head basketball coach Cinco Boone. "We had a pretty good talk at halftime and we came out and the guys had good effort. I think it started at the defensive end of the floor, which allowed us to get up and down in transition a little bit. WT had a hard time getting back and staying in front of us which forced them to foul us. We were able to convert at the foul line which is something that this team has always done."

Down 50-40 entering the second half, the Rams came out of the locker room with a sense of determination. A Quay King 3-pointer kicked off the team's 19-4 run to regain the lead at 59-57 which the Rams had lost at the 8:20 mark in the first half.Gustav Puhovs, who knocked down 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, would then hit six consecutive free throws to give ASU the lead back with 9:42 left in the game.  King contributed eight points to the run knocking down a pair of threes and a jumper from the paint. The run would also see points scored by Steadman Allen and Tre Bennett. Angelo State led the Buffs by as much as 13 points in the second half, with Bennett closing the game out for the Rams stroking a pair of free throws.

The Rams kept the game close through the beginning of the first half. However, Angelo State dug itself into a hole when it allowed WT to pull ahead buy 10 points. The Buffs late 14-6 run in the first was led by guard, David Chavlovich, who shot lights out hitting 23 points during the half.
 
Leading the Rams offensive attack for the night was Allen, who recorded a team leading 19 points. This was the senior's sixth consecutive game marking double-figure points.  He was 7-for-10 from the field and 5-for-9 from the free throw line. He also added five boards and a steal to his numbers for the night.

Following Allen and also hitting double-figure points for the sixth consecutive game was Bennett. The senior dropped in 16 points for the second spot on the team's point list. The point guard was perfect from the foul line sinking 11-for-11 free throws. He also capped the night off tallying three assists and a two steals.

King and Puhovs rounded out the group that recorded double-digit points against WT. In addition to his 13 points, King snagged a team second six rebounds and pocketed two steals. Puhovs, a native of Rega, Latvia, recorded 12 points, four rebounds and a steal.  

Solidifying the defense for the Rams this game was Omari Gudul, Thomas Tshikaya and Shaquan Rhoades. Gudul lead the squad with eight rebounds against the Buffs and added a block to the mix. This was his ninth game this season with at least eight boards. He has also recorded a block in all but one game. Tshikaya compiled a team leading three blocks, all of which came at critical periods of the game. He added four rebounds and seven points to his total numbers. Finally, Rhoades recorded a team and career high six steals for the team's defensive efforts.

Angelo State hits the road for its next match up on Saturday, January 16 against Eastern New Mexico at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on 1260AM KKSA with the voice of the Rams, Jeremy Bryant, on the call.