SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No.11/13 Angelo State men's basketball team returns to the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center to take on the No.4/2 Midwestern State Mustangs on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Coming off a tough loss on the road to Cameron the Rams will seek to rebound with an upset of the 16-1, 5-0 LSC Mustangs. ASU currently sit at 14-3 this season and 2-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rams offense remains No.1 in the LSC averaging 90.1 points per game and a .748 free throw percentage. While, the defense leads the conference with 18.29 turnovers forced, 158 total steals and a 9.3 steals per game average. The last time Angelo State saw MSU on the court was during the second round of the last season's NCAA South Central Regional Tournament which resulted in a 66-49 ASU victory. Angelo State trails Midwestern, 26-45, in the all-time series between the two.
ASU will look to Tre Bennett and Stedman Allen to lead its offensive charge against the Mustangs. Bennett, the teams overall points leader, is averaging 16.5 points per game. The senior is currently riding an eight game streak of scoring double-digits points. He leads the team from beyond the arch sinking an average of 2.5 3-pointers a game for a .413 3-point shooting percentage and frim the free throw line with a .868 percent from the stripe. The point guard also leads the team with a 4.1 assist per game average. Allen, who is coming of a 21 point performance against Cameron, is second on the squad in total points scored and is averaging 16.8 points per game. The forward leads the team from the paint with a stellar .547 field goal shooting percentage.
The offense has also seen good production from Quay King, Gustavs Puhovs and Prince Foster. King and Puhovs have both shown that they can knock down the long ball. King is averaging a team second 2.1 threes per game average for a .312 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Puhovs is not far behind with a 1.4 3-point per game average and a .479 3-point shooting percentage. Foster checks in at second on the team with an average of 2.2 assist per game. He has contributed to the team's success from the free throw line with a solid .724 free throw percentage. The junior has also contributed to the defense boasting a team second 21 steals on the season. Â Â
 Solidifying the defensive side of the ball will be Omari Gudul and Thomas Tshikaya. Gudul checks in at third in the conference and first on the team in both the rebounding and blocked shots category. The veteran is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game and a total of 35 blocked shot on the season, which averages him 2.1 per game. Offensively, he is averaging 9.1 points per game and has marked seven double-figure games this season. This has earned the big man a team leading four double-doubles on the season. Tshikaya follows closely with a team second 5.7 boards per game and 19 total blocks for the season. The native of France has recorded six games this season with multiple blocks and nine games with at least five boards.
Shelton Boykin and Shaquan Rhoades have also made great contributions to the defensive effort. Â Boykin has maintained the team lead with 23 steals on the season, which averages him 1.5 steals per game. He is also has a team third 5.9 rebounds per game average. Offensively, he is third on the squad averaging 13.5 points and 2.4 assists per game. Rhoades, who has recently earned his third consecutive start this season, climbed to third on the team with 20 steals on the year. He marked his fourth consecutive game pocketing a steal and his third recording multiple steals for the Rams.
Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcasted on RamTV (Suddenlink Channel 6) and on the home of the Rams 1260AM KKSA, with Jeremy Bryant on the call.Â