SAN ANGELO – The No. 14 Angelo State men's basketball program hits the road for a rematch with St. Mary's on Thursday, December 1 at 6 p.m. followed by a match on Saturday, December 3 against St. Edward's in Austin, Texas at 3p.m.
The Rams will look to extend its 3-0 undefeated streak as it faces the Rattlers for the second time within a week followed by its first meeting with the Hilltoppers this season. ASU is currently outscoring its opponents by a margin of 24.3 points per game. As a team it is also hitting .472 percent from inside the arc and .387 percent from 3 –point range. The Rams are once again excelling as they are taking advantage of free throws making .667 percent from the charity stripe. On the national level Angelo State is leading DII in both blocked shots per game (9.3) and scoring defense as it has only allowed an average of 53.7 points per game. It is also sitting within the top 10 with the fewest fouls (57).
St. Mary's seeks to avenge its 83-65 loss at the hands of the Rams last Friday and recover from a two game skid. The Rattlers are currently sitting at 2-5 on the season and are 1-1 on its home court. In the team's last meeting with Rams it was held to just .333 percent shooting from field goal range and .292 percent from beyond the arc. StMU owns the all-time series record with the Rams, 21-12.
Looking to build off its last 95-62 victory over Trinity (Texas), St. Edward's is currently boasting a 6-3 record. ASU leads the all-time series 9-1 and downed the Hilltoppers, 79-78, in the last meeting between the two during the 2015-16 season.
Leading the ASU offensive attack will be Quay King, Prince Foster and Lorenzo Dillard. King heads the squad in scoring with an average of 19 points per game. The senior leads the team with 20 field goals made and 10 total 3 – pointers on the year. In his last match-up with the Rattlers, King placed a career tying 25 points on the board for the Rams. Foster follows closely behind in the scoring department chalking an average of 16 points this season. The Miami, Florida native dropped 18 of those points in the two team's last match-up. His shooting accuracy is second on the team as he is sporting a .625 field goal percentage and .500 3 – point percentage. Foster also co-leads the team grabbing 20 total boards on the year. Completing the group, Dillard is knocking down an average of 11 points per game from the point guard position. The newcomer leads the squad with 14 assists thus far.
Heading the Rams defense will be Thomas Tshikaya, Justin Hollins and Michael Thomas. Tshikaya is second on the Rams with 17 total Rebounds on the season, 15 of which were defensive. This averages the senior 5.7 total boards per game. He is also holds a team second four blocks to his name. Offensively, he is averaging a team fourth 8.7 points per game. Hollins, who is currently 18th in the nation with a team leading 14 blocks, tied a single game record with eight in ASU home opener. He has pulled down five rebounds this season. Rounding out the trio, Thomas co-leads the team with 20 boards on the season. The Villa Platte, Louisiana native also leads with 16 defensive boards. He has added four blocks on the year to his total numbers.
DeVonte' Pratt and Gustavs Puhovs add great depth to the No. 14 Rams. Pratt leads the team with a .750 field goal percentage, while   averaging 6.7 points per game for ASU. Defensively, the senior has pocketed a team most five steals and has grabbed double figure rebounds (10) this season. Finally, Puhovs has totaled 13 points in the past three games. He has also totaled seven defensive boards, a pair of steals and a pair of blocks to his stats for the year.
Both match-ups will be broadcasted live on 1260AM KKSA with the voice of the Rams, Jeremy Bryant, on the call.
