SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team hits the road to Texas A&M – Kingsville where it will take on the Javelinas on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m.
The Rams, who will be looking to expand its two games win streak, are currently sitting at 12-4, 4-4 LSC overall. The ASU offense currently fourth in the LSC as it leads the conference knocking down 48.1 percent of its field goals and a 38.8 percent of its 3-pointers. The defense enters another week of being ranked in top 10 nationally in both blocked shots per game (6th), defensive rebounds per game (2nd), field-goal percentage defense (7th) and 3- point field goal defense (5th).
The Javelinas, who are sitting one spot below the Rams in the LSC rankings at eighth, are 10-7 overall and 3-5 in the Lone Star Conference. TAMUK is also riding a two game win streak as it downed both Eastern and Western New Mexico in Kingsville. The Rams trail the Javelinas by a single game in the all-time series. 50-51, and the last meeting between the two programs resulted in a 87-86 TAMUK loss in the opening round of the LSC Tournament.
Quay King continues to lead the Rams attack as he sits on top of the LSC scoring an average of 20.5 points per game. The senior guard dropped in an average of 22.0 points per game over the past two games for ASU, which included matching a season high with 28 points scored against Western New Mexico. During this game the Atlanta native hit seven 3-pointers for the second time this season. This has allowed him to continue to lead the LSC making 41.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. King aided the defense with eight boards and a pair of steals.
Also playing a large role in the Angelo State offense will be Lorenzo Dillard and DeVonte' Pratt. Dillard, who is second on the team marking 13.9 points per game, also leads the Rams with 4.8 assists from the point guard position. He is also second on the team with 18 pocketed steals on the season. Pratt is averaging 10 points per game and has marked double-digit points in his last five contests. The Toledo, Ohio native heads the team's defense with 20 steals this year.
Heading the ASU defense will be Thomas Tshikaya, Brandon Williams and Justin Hollins. This past week, Tshikaya pulled down 17 total boards, which averaged 8.5 per game. This was accompanied by a team leading three steals and a blocked shot. His pair of steals against Western New Mexico marked a season high for the big man. Tshikaya also assisted the offense with 21 total points and five assists. Williams is second on the squad averaging a solid team second five boards per game. He has tallied seven blocks on the year and has assisted the offense sinking an average of 10.6 points per game. Completing the group, Hollins has helped the Rams defense maintain the top ten national ranking in blocked shots per game as he leads ASU with 31 total blocks this season.
Aiding the Rams off of the bench will be Napoleon Onyeje Jr. and Chase Riley. Onyeje Jr. had a big game for ASU this past week as he scored a season high 13 points and led the team with seven assists against Eastern New Mexico. The senior also recorded his first block of the season and added a steal as well. Riley also had a big game this past week as he was one of the driving forces that kept the Rams momentum going through the second half of the Western New Mexico game. During the game he hit a perfect 3-3 from deep and knocked down 50 percent of his free throws and short range shots. He also lead the defense with three steals during the WNMU game.
This game will be broadcasted live on 1260AM KKSA, with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
