SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team defeated Eastern New Mexico, 84-68, in front of its home crowd on Saturday evening.

The Rams climbed to 12-4 overall and 4-4 in the Lone Star Conference with the victory. ASU once again had multiple players score in double figures against the Greyhounds, with the Rams taking advantage both points in the paint (32) and points off of the bench (28). ENMU drops to 7-12, 1-8 LSC with Saturday night's loss.

"I am really proud of our guys for battling through the adversity and really stepping up in the last two games," said ASU Head Men's Basketball Coach Cinco Boone said. "Our chemistry looks better on the court, the execution has gotten better and we are guarding and rebounding better. We have cut our turnovers in the last two games as well. After having a big lead at the half we came out with a little less energy in the second half, but Napoleon [Onyeje Jr.] and Devaughn [Jenkins] stepped up and gave us some positive minutes when we needed to take care of the ball and made some big shots there at the end."

Quay King, DeVonte' Pratt, Napoleon Onyeje Jr. and Brandon Williams all headed the ASU offensive efforts with double-digit points for the night. King led the group dropping in 16 points and picking up a team second six boards. Pratt followed with a team second 15 points going 6-9 from short range. The senior also tallied six boards and added a steal and a block in the game.

Marking a season high in points with 13, Onyeje Jr. also turned in a team high seven assists. The Pflugerville native hit an outstanding 13-14 from the charity stripe and assisted the defense with a block and a steal. Completing the foursome, Williams recorded 12 total points knocking down 6-8 field goals. He also led the defense with a pair of blocks.  

Thomas Tshikaya anchored the defense for Angelo State as he pulled down a team high eight boards. The big man headed the team pocketing a pair of steals and also aided the offense with a total of seven points scored.  

Eastern New Mexico opened the first half with a dunk to place the first points on the board, but the Ram quickly responded with a 10-0 run that started at the 19:14 mark. King led the attack during the run sinking a pair of deep threes. Lorenzo Dillard and Pratt also assisted completing the run with two points each. After another Greyhound 2-pointer, ASU jumped on another large 15-2 run that would give them a 25-6 lead with 11:58 left in the 1^st half. Both teams would exchange points through the remainder of the half. ASU would take advantage of the pair of early runs that gave it a commanding and held off any attempts by ENMU to cut its deficit. DeVaughn Jenkins would score the final points for the Rams with a dunk and a layup as the Rams would enter the break with a 47-26 lead.

Williams got things started for Angelo State in the second half with a pair of jumpers. This was followed by a King 3-pointer from the corner marking his fourth of the game at the 14:46 mark to give the Rams a 54-35 advantage. The Greyhounds would battle back and closed the Rams lead to 11 (63-52) with 8:13 left on the clock. A big slam by Pratt would get the Rams back in gear as the team pushed the lead back to 17 with 71-54 on the board and 6:03 left in the game. ENMU once again responded cutting the Rams lead down to 10, the lowest margin of the half, with 3:43 left in the game. A second dunk by Pratt would once again get the Rams back on track, as ASU would hold on to the double-digit lead to close out the game.   

The Rams have a short turnaround as they head to Texas A&M – Kingsville on Tuesday, January 24 to take on the 10-7, 3-5 LSC Javelinas. This game will be broadcasted live on 1260AM KKSA with the voice of the Rams Jeremy Bryant on the call.