SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team starts it 2017-18 home schedule with the annual Ed Messbarger Classic, which tips off Friday evening.

Entering its four year, the Ed Messbarger Classic is named in honor of the legendary ASU men's basketball coach that won 630 games in his 41 year career and 267 games with the Rams.  The two time LSC coach of the year also led the program to two Lone Star Conference titles.  As the head coach of St. Mary's in San Antonio he was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year (1974-75). Messbarger was inducted into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor in 2006 and into the Angelo State Hall of Honor in 2012. He retired from coaching at the age of 65 in 1998 having spent nearly half of his illustrious coaching career, 20 years, as the head coach of the Rams. The Angelo State Hall of Honoree and legendary men's basketball coach passed away on June 30, 2014 at the age of 81.

The Rams, which will enter the weekend with a 2-0 record, will get things stared on Friday night as it takes on Arlington Baptist at 7 p.m. ASU will then return to the court on Saturday at 7 p.m. for a bout with St. Edward's. Averaging 88 points per competition thus far, ASU is hitting nearly 50 percent of its sort range shots (.481). It is also grabbing an average of 39.5 boards per game. Defensively it has record 15 total steals to its opponents nine.  

St. Edward's will enter the Messbarger Classic with a 3-0 record, having downed Colorado Mesa, Colorado and Southwestern University. The last two meeting between ASU and SEU have been close bouts, as the Rams emerged victorious by just a single point in both games (79-78 in 2015-16 and 91-90 in 2016-17).

Arlington Baptist, a member of the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association), will have six games under its belt when it enters the Stephens Arena. Two of the six game s will have been against Division I opponents, St. Thomas University and Houston Baptist. In the last meeting between the Patriots and Rams during the 2015-16 season, ASU dropped triple digits on ABC with the game coming to an end with 116-46 on the board.   

Heading ASU on both offense and defense throughout he the Rams opening two games, James Kirksey totaled 44 points for the week. This included a 19-points game against UC- Colorado Springs and was bettered by a 25-point performance against Metro State the next day. Hailing from Chester, Pennsylvania, the guard also hit 71.4 percent of his free throws, going 10-14 from the charity stipe. Against the Roadrunners he knocked down a team leading 11-16 short range shots and also headed the squad with five total assists. Kirksey not only lead ASU with a 60.7 shooting percentage from inside the arch for the week but also headed the squad in ball distribution with nine assists. This averaged the transfer 4.5 assist per game. Defensively, he turned in a team leading 15 boards for the week. With nine rebounds on defense and six on offense, he led the Rams with an average of 7.5 boards for the pair of games. Pocketing a team leading five steals against Metro State, Kirkey totaled six on the week and also added a block to his totals.

The Rams will also be looking to Will Adler, Ja'Michael Brown and Antonio Singleton to help the offenses production. Adler is second on the team with 30 points. He is a serious threat from deep as he also has a team leading five three-balls to his name. All together the transfer out of Butler Community College is averaging 15 points per game. Brown is second on the team in passing around the rock with an average of four assists per game. The junior guard is also averaging a squad third 12 points per game and had assisted the defense with an ASU third 11 boards. Singleton rounds out the group with 23 total points and a 11.5 points per game average. He is currently shooting .667 from beyond the arch and is 11-13 from the line.

Defensively, the Rams will depend on seniors Brandon Williams and Ran Tut. Williams heads the Rams with three blocks on the year. He has also pocketed a team second five steals and had grabbed 11 total boards. Offensively, he is hitting 61.5 percent from inside the paint. Tut, who has 13 rebounds to his name, is scone on the squad in the department. He is second on the team with a single block. The native of Melbourne, Australia has also made offensive contributions to the team as the big man is hitting 66.7 percent of his shots from long range.