LAS VEGAS – The Angelo State men's basketball team used an early second-half run and held off a late rally from Rollins College to win its opening game of the Holiday Hoops Classic.
The Rams (8-2) shot 59 percent from the field in the contest and out-rebounded the Tars 39-18 on the day to help them secure the victory.
Scoring was slow by both teams to start the game, but Antonio Singleton got the Rams on the board with a three-pointer to break the tie. Singleton had a strong follow-up performance after matching his career-high last week against St. Mary's. Singleton led the team with 22 points in 20 minutes on the floor.
The Tars kept the game close, tying things up at 7-7, but the Rams never let them take the lead. The two teams continued to battle back and forth and were tied 20-20 with 9:52 left in the opening half before a Ram run put them out in front.
Paul Williams kicked off the run with a jumper after coming off the bench. The jumper sparked a 9-1 run that Williams capped off as well by hitting a three-pointer. The sophomore matched his season-high with 10 points off the bench.
Rollins closed the gap again, but could not take the lead as Williams hit yet another shot from behind the arc to hold off the Tar comeback.
A Collin Turner three-pointer put the Rams up by six with just over a minute to go, but the Tars closed the gap to just one point with the two teams heading into the locker room.
Kiair Crouch got the Ram offense going in the second half with a made jumper that sparked a 15-2 opening half run. Crouch matched his season high as well, scoring 14 points, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc and five assists.
Halfway through the second half, the Rams were up 15 points, looking to close out the win in the final 10 minutes.
The Tars did not give up though, cutting the deficit back down to single digits with just under four minutes left in the game.
Crouch helped the Rams hold them off, however, hitting a momentum-stalling three-pointer with 2:28 left to play. ASU played strong defense in the final two minutes and walked away with the 89-79 victory.
The Rams will play once more in the Holiday Hoops Classic, taking on Le Moyne at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
