STEPHENVILLE – The Angelo State men's basketball team rebounded from Thursday's loss in strong fashion, winning at Tarleton 74-61 Saturday afternoon.
The Rams (6-2, 1-1 LSC) had a strong shooting night both inside and outside the arc, hitting 48% from the field and connecting on exactly half of their three-point attempts.
Daron Mims and Kiair Crouch led the three-point attack, as Crouch hit on four of his seven shots form outside and Mims connected on three of his six attempts.
Mims was the team's leading scorer with 21 points, with Crouch just behind at 14 points in the game. Paul Williams was the only other Ram to finish in double figures as the Rams balanced their attack. The Mississippi native had 10 points to go along with three assists.
ASU got in out in front quickly, scoring six points before TSU was able to get a basket almost five minutes into the game. The Texans quickly tied the game back up, but the Rams retook the lead on a three-pointer from Antonio Singleton and a steal and fastbreak dunk from James Kirksey.
Singleton's second three-pointer of the game put the Rams up by double-digits for the first time with 10:32 left to play before the Texans responded again and cut the deficit back to four.
A 10-2 run from the Rams got the lead back to double-digits with just over two minutes to play in the half as they closed out the half strong. Williams hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left, and Angelo State went into the locker room with a 15-point lead.
The Texans started the second half with a bang, getting a dunk and a three-pointer, but Crouch quickly quelled their momentum with back-to-back threes of his own. ASU pushed the lead as wide as 15 points, but faced one final TSU rally after the 10-minute mark.
A pair of Texan free throws got the lead to single digits again with eight minutes left, and with 4:37 left Tarleton cut it to just five.
Once again, the Rams responded as Mims hit a timely three-pointer and Williams followed with one of his own. Six straight points from James Kirksey and crouch on layups put the Texans away, and the Rams walked away with a win in Wisdom Gym for the second straight season.
Angelo State will return home now for just one game next week, taking on regional foe St. Mary's at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.
