SAN ANGELO, Texas – Quay King sunk a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired as the No. 9/14 Angelo State basketball team downed Texas A&M – Kingsville, 74-71, at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center on Saturday evening.
With the score tied at 71 and two seconds on the game clock Prince Foster was set to inbound the ball on a play that head coach Cinco Boone had seen online just prior to the game. Foster made the perfect pass to the first option on the play. King, who had just opened up off of a solid screen set by Omari Gudul, launched a high arcing 3-pointer from the corner in front of the ASU bench, and as the final buzzer sounded the ball swished through the net.
"What a crazy game," commented Boone. "Down by five or six with about two minutes left to go, we told them there was going to be a lot more possessions left in this game so you have to keep making plays on both ends of the floor. We had some big stops and rebounds and a missed foul shot by them gave us a chance. At the end during that last play, there was a lot of pressure on the passer, the screeners and especially the shooter, but they all executed perfectly. What a shot by [Quay King] our best shooter."
The Rams improved to 16-3 overall and 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference and improves its home record to 8-1 with tonight's win over the Javelinas. Offensively, ASU had four players record double figures, while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 70 percent from the foul line. Texas A&M – Kingsville slid to 9-9 overall and 1-6 in the conference.
Angelo State led for the majority of the second half, however with 6:29 left on the clock a jumper by TAMUK forward Troy Jones returned the lead the Javelinas at 60-59. TAMUK increased its lead to six with a 10-5 run to increase the advantage to 70-64. With 3:56 left on clock, King would begin the final rally floating in a jumper. After a pair of missed Javelina jumpers the ball then found its way back into King's hands where he was fouled as he attempted a 3-point shot from beyond the arc. The junior sank all three ensuing free throws to pull the Rams back to within one at 70-69 with 1:05 left. A missed jumper by TAMUK gave the Rams a chance at the lead. Foster drove to the paint and knocked down a two pointer to return the lead to ASU with 31 seconds left. TAMUK guard DJ Weathers was fouled on the next possession for a pair of shots. He sank the first to tie the game at 71 but missed the free throw and ASU grabbed the rebound to rush up the court to call a timeout with two seconds left.
King started the game much like he ended it by hitting a three, for the second consecutive game. The first half was a battle with the Javelinas leading throughout the first half. At the 7:30 mark of the first half, a DeVonte Pratt 3-pointer followed by a Stedman Allen jumper gave the Rams a 26-22 advantage. ASU would hold on to the lead for the reminder of the first half and took a 41-37 lead in at the break. ASU held onto it's lead until the 6:29 mark of the second half.
Bennett (19), Allen (15), King (13) and Gudul (11) all recorded double-figure points for the game. Bennett and Allen extend their streak of games with double-digit points to 10 with Saturday's performances. Bennett also led the team with seven assists and shared the lead with three steals on defense. He was 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line. Allen was 6-of-10 from field goal range and stroked 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. The New York native was also one of three that grabbed five boards.
King, who has hit multiple threes in two straight games, was also a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line. Defensively he shared the team lead pocketing three steal and also grabbed five rebounds. Leading the defensive efforts, Gudul snagged a team leading seven boards and two blocks for the night.
The team hits the road to Canyon to take on West Texas A&M on Wednesday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m. The matchup between the Rams and the Buff will be broadcasted on 1260 AM KKSA with the voice of the Rams Jeremy Bryant calling the action.
ASU Men's Basketball vs Texas A&M Kingsville 30Jan16 - Images by
Angelo State University