SAN ANGELO – The No. 5/9 Angelo State men's basketball team returns to the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center for two pivotal LSC games against No. 9/15 Tarleton State on Thursday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Texas A&M – Commerce on Saturday, January 7 at 4 p.m.
The Rams, which is one of eight undefeated NCAA DII teams left in the country, enters the weeks challenges with a 10-0, 2-0 LSC record. Angelo State is just two wins short of tying last season's 12-0 start and is currently sitting third in the conference standings. The top ranked ASU defense is currently second in the nation and first in the LSC with an average of 33.60 defensive boards per game. The Rams are also seventh nationally and first in the LSC as it is blocking 5.7 shots per contest. Offensively, the team leads the conference sinking 49.1 percent of its shots from short range and 39 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.
Tarleton State makes the trip to San Angelo sitting on top of the conference with a 12-1, 4-0 LSC record. The Texans are currently riding a nine game win streak, with its last win coming in the form of an 87-68 home victory over Ouachita Baptist (Okla.). The last time ASU and TSU met, the Texans downed the Rams, 77-72, in the 2015-16 NCAA South Central Regional Championship game. The Texans lead the all-time series 37-34.
Texas A&M - Commerce enters Saturday's match-up with a 10-2 overall record and is 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Lions are coming off a close 78-76 win over Southern Arkansas. The last game between ASU and TAMUC resulted in a 90-80 road victory for the Rams. The Lions lead the all-time series between the two teams, 43-45.
The Rams will look to Lorenzo Dillard and Quay King to head the offensive attack. Dillard, who led ASU in scoring last week, scored a team most 37 points. This averages the junior point guard 18.5 points per game. The Chicago native dropped in a career second 21 points in the Rams second LSC victory, which came on the road versus Cameron. Dillard also led the squad with 14 total assists on the week. This included tying a career high with nine assists against Dallas Christian. Defensively, he added six steals to his numbers. King has been a marksman from the 3 - point line as he has knocked down a team leading 3.78 shots from beyond the arc. This currently has him sitting 15th in the nation. This has also allowed King to lead the team scoring an average of 20.2 total points per game. The senior is currently tied for second on the squad grabbing an average of five boards per contest.
Thomas Tshikaya and Justin Hollins anchored will anchor the Angelo State defense this week. Tshikaya leads the team as he is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game with 72 defensive boards. Offensively, the native of France is averaging 11.4 points per contest. Hollins currently leads the conference with 3.3 blocks per game and has assisted the Rams in obtaining a LSC leading 5.70 blocks per game. The senior added nine total blocked shots to his numbers this past week which included a six block performance against Cameron on the road. With a total of 12 boards for the week, Hollins averaged six rebounds per game.
Adding depth to the Angelo State bench is DeVonte' Pratt, Brandon Williams and Michael Thomas. Pratt marked a career high last week dropping in 14 against Dallas Christian. He then repeated the performance two days later as he tied the career mark scoring anther 14 against Cameron on the road. This was his fifth game of the season with double-figure points. Williams has come on strong since becoming eligible in mid-December. The transfer has since marked double -digit points in two of his last four games. He is averaging 10.8 points per game and is hitting a solid 68 percent of his inside shots. He has pulled down an average of five rebounds per contest. Rounding out the group, Thomas is third on the squad with 34 total boards on the season and has recorded five blocked shots.
Both games will be televised live in high definition on RamTV (Suddenlink 6 & 106HD) and on 1260AM KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
