ALLEN, Texas – No.11/22 ASU Men's basketball falls in LSC touenament finale to Midwestern State, 88-72, in the Allen Events Center and looks forward to regionalselection show on Sunday.
The Rams drop to 23-6 this season with the loss. Angelo State had four players score in double- figures. Angelo State outscored its opponents, 32-12, in second chance points and teams scored 11 points off of turnovers. Midwestern State improved to 24-5 on the year and claimed its seventh LSC Tournament Championship in nine appearances with the win. The Mustangs shot 53.8 percent from the field while limiting the Rams to 31.4 percent.
Despite the Mustang hold on to the lead throughout the game, the first half of play was a battle between the two teams. The Rams never allowed MSU to reach a double digit lead. At the 5:04 mark in the first half and with the score, 30-37, the Rams kicked off a 7-2 run that brought them to within two of tying the game up at 39. However, MSU would answer by dropping in another seven points to take the two teams into the half with a score of 46-38.
The second half saw the Mustangs pull away and take the lead to double-digits. The Mustangs would keep the Rams from starting a run going that consisted of more than five points during this half. ASU did shoot 81.25 percent, which was an improvement over its 60 percent first half.
Omari Gudul led the ASU offensive attack scoring a team high 15 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds and added two blocks and a steal to his numbers for the night. The big man was also selected to the LSC All-Tournament team. Stedman Allen and Tre Bennett followed closely behind with 14 points apiece. Along with also being selected to the LSC All-Tournament team, Bennett marked his 20th consecutive double-digit point game. Allen earned his fourth double-double on the year as he pulled down a team leading 19 boards for the night. This was the highest number of rebounds recorded by any Ram since Marlon Hall recorded 19 against MSU on February 4, 1997. This is also the third highest amount of single game rebounds in program history.
Also turning in top performers for the night, was Prince Foster and Quay King. Foster turned in nine points for the night on the offensive side of the ball. He also added five boards and led the defense with a pair of blocks and a pair of steals. King recorded 11 points on the night, which marked his third consecutive double-digit point game. The junior led the team with three assists and shared the team lead pocketing a pair of steals.
The Rams will now look to Sunday's Regional selection show to see where in the South Central region it will be heading next Saturday. The team along with the ASU Women's basketball team will host a Selection Sunday watch party on Sunday March 6 in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center which will begin at 9 p.m.
