SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State men's basketball team used a strong second half on the road to beat Western New Mexico 79-73 and secure the eighth and final seed in the Lone Star Conference tournament.

The Rams (15-11, 7-11 LSC) shot just 47 percent in the regular season finale, but held the Mustangs (2-24, 0-18 LSC) to just a 37 percent clip from the field to secure the win. ASU pounded the rock inside all night, scoring 52 points in the paint to just 18 from WNMU, and the Rams also secured a solid 22 points off the bench in the game.

Four different Rams reached the double-digit scoring mark, including Prince Foster with 22, Brandon Williams with 17, DeVonte' Pratt with 16 and Chase Riley with 12. Foster led all scorers with his 22 points and also secured 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal in the game. The double-double was just his second of the year.

Thomas Tshikaya was also a force on the glass for Angelo State, pulling down 13 rebounds for his ninth double-digit rebound performance of the season.

Western New Mexico opened the game hot from long range, hitting two early three-pointers and going on an early 18-5 run to secure a lead. ASU slowly worked their way back into the game by consistently getting in the paint and getting to the line. With 10:45 left in the half, Pratt hit a pair of free throws the cut the deficit to single digits. WNMU pushed the lead back out to 16 with 6:48 to play, and then both teams hit a drought and nobody scored for more than four minutes. Williams broke the drought with a layup and a dunk, and the Rams ended the half on 12-0 run to head to the locker room down just four.

Angelo State cut the deficit to just a minute and took their first lead of the game on a layup from Foster with 15:58 remaining. WNMU would tie the game back up at 51 all with 10:56 left to play, but would never lead again in the matchup. Chase Riley broke the tie with a five-point run all by himself, and the Rams pushed the lead to its largest margin at 10 points with 4:51 remaining. Western New Mexico would never cut the deficit smaller than five points the rest of the way as the Rams continued to hit free throws, securing the 79-73 win.

The win helped set the LSC tournament field for the postseason tournament March 2-5. The Rams will be the No. 8 seed and take on Tarleton State at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 2.