SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State men's basketball team improved its record to 4-0 on the season Thursday night in San Antonio, winning an overtime thriller against St. Mary's, 89-87.
Prince Foster hit the game-winner for the Rams in the overtime period. The senior guard caught the ball with three seconds remaining, pump-faked on a three-pointer before taking one dribble in and drilling a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer.
"I was really proud of our guys tonight to be able to execute down the stretch and have to make palys on both ends of the floor in pressure situations," ASU head men's basketball coach Cinco Boone said. "We had great performances from a lot of different guys tonight, and I was really happy to be able to get that first road win."
The win is the fourth straight to start the season for Angelo State, and the team's first on the road this year.
ASU led by as many as eight points in the first half, but five straight points from the Rattlers to close the half forced the Rams to take a three-point lead into the locker room at half time. ASU got its largest lead of the game with 8:59 left in the second half at 10, but the gap was just three again with two minutes to go in the game.
The Rattlers poured in the next five points and grabbed a two-point lead with barely a minute left. After a timeout, the Rams got the ball inside the paint to Thomas Tshikaya, who hit a jumper with a minute remaining to tie the ballgame and send it into overtime.
Tshikaya had his best night of the season so far, playing a team-high 47 minutes and recording his first double-double on the year. The junior had a career-high 16 rebounds, scored 13 points and added in two blocks on the defensive side of the ball.
The overtime period was a back and forth battle, but the Rams grabbed a three-point lead with 59 seconds remaining. The Rattlers would tie the game up one last time when Will Ferguson hit a three-pointer with just 24 seconds, before Foster's heroics won the game.
Besides Tshkaya and Foster, the Rams had three other players score in double digits. Point guard Lorenzo Dillard led all scorers in the contest with 19 points while Quay King followed close behind with 18 and Gustavs Puhovs added in 13 off the bench. Dillard was also the team's assist leader with six on the night.
The Rams will remain on the road for their next matchup, facing St. Edwards at 3 p.m. Saturday in Austin.
