Men's Basketball | 11/18/2016 10:02:00 AM
SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State men's basketball team will open up the 2017-17 regular season this at 8 p.m. this Saturday, taking on Huston-Tillotson in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center to as a part of the Ed Messbarger Tipoff Classic. The Rams will then finish the classic with a matchup against Howard Payne at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
ASU has already played two exhibitions against Division I opponents this season, falling to the University of Texas on November 2 in Austin and coming up short against the University of Houston on November 16 on the road as well.
Quay King scored 15 points and DeVonte' Pratt added 14 to lead the Rams in scoring in the game against the Longhorns. King stroked a team leading six field goals and three 3-point shots for the game. The bench contributed a solid 25 points to the Rams' cause in the matchup.
Rams Lorenzo Dillard, Prince Foster, Quay King and Thomas Tshikaya, led the way for the offense, posting double-figure points against the Cougars. Dillard, who recorded a team high 18 points, was 4-5 from short range, while knocking down 10-12 shots from the charity stripe, and Foster followed posting 14 points.
The Rams are coming off a 25-7 showing in the 2015-2016 season and have been to back-to-back South Central Regional Finals. The Rams are returning seven players from last season, including two from the starting lineup, and have added depth with a number of strong recruits as well.
Returning from last season's starting lineup are Prince Foster and Quay King. Foster started 21 of 32 games in his junior season for the Rams and averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game during the season. The Miami native also had the second most steals on the team with 40. King started even more games than Foster opening the game for ASU 23 times in 32 games. The senior average 11 points per game during the season and was the Rams' go-to outside shooter, making 79 three-pointers on the year to lead the team.
Five other Rams are returning as well, including Gustavs Puhovs, DeVonte' Pratt, Napoleon Onyeje, Thomas Tshikaya and Shaquan Rhoads.
Of the five, Tshikaya got the most experience last season, playing in all 32 games. The senior averaged 6.8 points per game and was a force at the rim as well, chalking up a team-second 32 blocks on the season. Puhovs is the only other returner who saw time in all 32 games last season, as the Latvia native averaged 4.7 points a game and hit 29 threes for third most on the team.
One of the best at taking the ball away last season was Shaquan Rhoades, who averaged more than a steal a game in his 31 games played. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Rhoades reached double digits in scoring three times last year, averaging 3.9 points per game.
Senior DeVonte' Pratt saw action in all but three games last season, averaging 4.6 points per game and shooting a reliable .333 on three-point attempts. The Rams last returner is Onyeje, who got playing time in just eight games last season, but secured ten steals and averaged 3.7 points per game in that time.
Cinco Boone and his staff went out and got a number of recruits during the offseason as well, adding 12 new players to help improve the Rams depth this season.
Junior Brandon Williams took a redshirt season last year, but will be joining the Rams this year after spending the first two years of his playing career at UT-Arlington. As a sophomore at with the Mavericks, Williams averaged 3.2 points per game on 55 percent from field while pulling down 3 rebounds in 12 minutes per contest.
Two other players who redshirted last season but will be eligible this year are Chase Riley and Eddie Messbarger. Riley was redshirted last year after two seasons at Casper College in Wyoming, while Messbarger sat out his freshman season after completing high school at Hanna in South Padre Island.
Another Division I transfer new to ASU this season is junior Cornelius Hubbard, who originally played at Wake Forrest. As a member of the Demon-Deacons he started 11 games in his two year stint, scoring in double figures 18 times including a career-high 22 points against Pitt. Also returning to the state of Texas after two years with a D-I program is senior Justin Holllins, who spent the last season with Cal State Bakersfield. Hollins helped the Roadrunners to a 24-9 record while earning the program's first ever trip to the NCAA Division 1 Tournament. In 12 minutes per games he broke the program's single season block record by tallying 60 total blocks for an average of 6.27 per 40 minutes.
The Rams' fourth and final Division I transfer is from Lamar University in the form of 5'10 guard Kevin Booze. Booze was the team's second leading scorer during his sophomore year at 9.3 point per game. He also led the team with 114 assists and 36 steals. As a freshman he scored a career high 35 points against Abilene Christian.
E.J. Hubbard comes to the Rams as a transfer as well, playing his first two seasons at Adams State, where he started 17 games while averaging 8.9 points per contest while collecting 4.4 rebounds. Hubbard scored a career high 24 points on Midwestern State.
Several other players came to the Rams for the 2016-17 season by way of transfer after starting their collegiate careers at junior colleges. One of those JUCO transfers is junior Andre Nikita from Arizona Western College. Nikita, the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year, averaged 18.9 points per game and set a career high with 36 points against Pima.
Other junior college transfers joining the Rams this season include Lorenzo Dillard from Dodge City Community College and Michael Thomas who spent his first two season at Kilgore College. During his two years as a member of the Rangers, Thomas helped them to a 45-16 record, averaging 6.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game at Kilgore College during the 2014-2015 season. Dillard averaged 16.5 points per game and shooting 39.4 percent from behind the arc while with the Conquistadors, scoring career high 38 points against Trinity Valley, who at the time was the number one junior college team in the country.
Rounding out the transfers is junior DeVaughn Jenkins, who scored 11.3 points per game as a sophomore at the College of Central Florida while averaging 5.3 rebounds. He scored a career-high 25 against Florida State College at Jacksonville.
ASU also added three freshmen in its recruiting class in Brandon Conwright, Steven Price and Caleb Henry. As a senior at Kennedale High School, Conwright averaged 22 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 47 percent from three on a school record 107 makes. Henry came to the Rams from Southland Christian School, where he averaged 13 points per game to go along with 9 rebounds, and San Marcos High School graduate Price scored 14.9 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game during his senior season.
Huston-Tillotson has played three games so far this season, losing all three matchups. Two of the losses were by less than five points, however, as the Rams lost to Texas Wesleyan 59-56 and Science and Arts Oklahoma 60-56.
Howard Payne has played only one exhibition this year, falling to Division I Lamar 90-47 on November 11. The Yellow Jackets will be starting their regular season at the Ed Messbarger Tipoff Classic as well, taking on Eastern New Mexico in the first game of the weekend at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
