SAN ANGELO – After a week break for final exams, the Angelo State men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, December 19 as it seeks retribution against Lubbock Christian on the road.
The Rams, who are now 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference, will look to even the series with the Chaps after a home court loss (69-65) earlier this season. Carrying regional weight, this matchup will tip-off at 7 p.m. in the Hub City. Angelo State is currently averaging 85.3 points as a team and has downed its opponents by a margin of 13.5 points per game. The team is knocking down 50.8 percent of its shots inside the arch and 41.9 percent of its 3-balls. From the foul line, the Rams are shooting 67.5 percent.
Both teams will enter the day coming off home wins over Cameron, with the Rams downing the Aggies 81-58 and the Chaps recording an 81-78 victory. Lubbock Christian is 4-7 on the season and 3-1 when playing at home. LCU is averaging 75.5 points per game and is holding on to a -1.3 scoring margin thus far.
Leading ASU onto the court will me current standout performers, Ja'Michael Brown and Brandon Williams. During the last two matchups for the Rams Brown once again led the attack with 33 total points. This averaged the junior guard 16.5 points for the pair of games. He was 11-22 (.500) from short range, 1-4 (.250) from beyond the arch and 10-12 (.833) from the charity stripe. This included a 25-point game versus Midwestern State. In addition, the point guard led the squad with 13 assists and six steals for the week, while pulling down a team second 10 boards.
Williams has continued to lead the team on the other side of the court as he grabbed a team high 13 boards in ASU's last two contests. This averaged the senior captain 6.5 boards per game. He also led the Rams with four blocks on the week. Williams also added a steal to his totals for the week. Offensively, Williams sunk a team second 30 points as he dropped double-figures in both of the Rams' games. He shot 70 percent from inside the arch as he hit 14-20.
Will Adler, James Kirksey and Daron Mims have also played major roles in the Rams successes as of late. Adler leads the offense with 25 3-pointers on the season and a shooting percentage of 43.1 percent from beyond the arch. The junior also leads the team hitting 90.9 percent having sunk 10-11 free throws. Kirksey, who is second on the squad with 14 steals, is hitting a team fourth 11.1 points per game. He also second on the Rams in both rebounding and assists. He is currently pulling down 5.6 boards per game and has recorded 32 assists on the young season. Rounding out the group, Mims is fourth on the team in scoring with a 10.1 point per game average. He has sunk 55.3 percent of his short-range shots this season and 66.7 percent from the stripe.
Providing depth off the bench for Angelo State will be Antonio Singleton, Ran Tut and Kiair Crouch. Singleton has four game this season hitting double-digit points and is second on the team with 13 shots made from long range. Tut has aided the team's defensive efforts, as he is second on the team with eight blocks on the year. He is also averaging 6.2 points per game and 3.9 rebounds. Finally, Crouch is getting back on track after being out for several games with injury. He has played a total of 27 minutes in the last two games for the Rams scoring 9 points and totaling four assists.
This game   can be heard on 1260AM KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
