WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The Angelo State men's basketball team claimed its spot in the Sweet Sixteen with its, 87-66, win over the Fort Lewis Skyhawks.

ASU climbed to 25-6 with the win. This will be the second time in program history that the Rams have advanced to the regional final, with its last appearance coming in 2015 where they fell to Tarleton State, 66-64. The win also marked the teams second 25 win season in program history. Fort Lewis concluded its season with a 28-4 record with the loss.

 "I don't think the score was indicative of the war that took place on the court today," said ASU head basketball coach Cinco Boone. It was really in the last five minutes that we made the push and stretched it out with the big lead. They zoned us more than we expected, but we had some big shots from [Quay King and Stedman Allen]. "

 The Rams offense had all of its starting five score in double-figures and outscored the Skyhawks 18-to-5 on points off of turnovers. The team also outscored Fort Lewis 6-to-3 on second chance points, 14-to-0 on fast break points and 36-to-20 on points in the paint.

 Fort Lewis began the game knocking down a pair of threes, when senior Omari Gudul put a stop to the Skyhawk run with a layup to put the Rams on the board. ASU continue to trail until the 15:25 mark when Quay King launched a 3-pointer from NBA range to give the Rams a 13-12 lead. The two teams exchanged the lead a total of eight out of the nine times in the first half. After a 10-5 run by Fort Lewis the Rams would enter the half with a six point deficit (40-34)

 As it has done many times this season, ASU came out in the second half with a strong focus. As in the first half, it was the senior leader, Gudul, who would get the team rolling on a 21-3 run with a layup. The run would regain the lead for the Rams for the last time as they would maintain it throughout the rest of the half. With 3:01 on the clock, King dropped in on of his team leading seven 3-pointers to start a 15-3 run that would close out the game for the Rams with a 21 point lead.   

Quay King led the offensive attack recording a career high 25 points. He knocked down a career high seven three pointers and was 9-of-11 from the field. This was the junior's fifth consecutive game scoring in the double-digit range. He also added three assists and a pair of steals to his final stats.

Omari Gudul solidified the ASU defense as he marked his seventh double-double of the season with a 13 point and 10 rebound performance.  This was his 11^th game with double-figure rebounds and 14^th scoring double-figures. The senior big man also recorded a team high four blocks and a steal on the evening.

Second on the team with 17 points on the night, was senior Stedman Allen. He shot .500 from the field and a stellar .714 from the free throw line. Defensively, the New York native pulled down a team third five rebounds and was also one of the four players to lead the team with two steals.

Junior Prince Foster and senior Tre Bennett rounded out the team's top scorers against FLC. Foster along with Foster's 13 points for the game, he added three assists, four boards and pocketed a steal. Bennett dropped in 12 point and led the squad with six assists. The point guard also chalked up a pair of steals to assist ASU's defensive efforts.  

The Rams will take to the court in the D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Tuesday, March 15 to face Tarleton State in the Regional final game for the second consecutive year.  The Rams lead the series between the two teams this season two game to one, with ASU last knocking the Texans out of the LSC Championship Tournament in the semifinal round with an 81-73 victory. ASU is 0-1 against TSU in NCAA post season play.