LAWTON, Oklahoma – A late run pushed the Angelo State men's basketball team to a, 87-81, road win over Cameron University on Thursday night.
With 3:41 left on the game clock and trailing by nine, 80-71, Davion Cole-Johnson stroked a 3-ball. He then immediately followed with a fast break dunk and the late rally was underway. This started a 12-0 Rams run that pushed ASU in front 83-80 with under a minute left in the game. This run also saw a layup from James Kirksey and a pair of shots from the free throw line by Ja'Michael Brown. A single Aggie free throw would do little to halt the Angelo State advance, as Brown was sent back to the charity stripe another two straight times where he sank all four free throws to secure the Angelo State win.
With the win the Rams improve to 16-5 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Once again, the team had multiple players drop double-figures, with Cole-Johnson leading the way as he dropped in 16 points for the night. Will Adler (15), Brandon Williams (13) and Daron Mims (13) complete the group of double-digit scorers for the game. Angelo State was able to distribute the ball well with a team total of 21 assists for the game, with Kirksey and Brown leading the way in that category dishing out seven each. Pulling down seven boards each, Cole-Johnson and Williams also headed the Rams in the category, while Kirksey pocketed a team most four steals. Cameron falls to 8-13, 4-8 LSC with the loss.
"Our team continues to find different ways to win ballgames," said ASU Head Coach Cinco Boone. "It seems like no deficit is too big for our team to come back from. We did not feel like we played extremely well and a lot of credit goes to how hard Cameron played. However, I give our guys a lot of credit to have resolve and continue to play well even when things were not going perfect on the court. The team overcame a lot of adversity tonight and we are proud of the guys!"
ASU jumped out to an early 6-4 lead off a pair of Williams' dunks and a Mims layup. The Rams would not be able to hold on for long as the Aggies quickly took over and took as much as a 13-point advantage with 10:07 left in the first half. Williams would then return at the 6:58 mark with a fast break layup to lead off a 13-0 run, which culminated with a Mims layup pushing the Rams back in front 31-30 at the 3:59 mark. CU would answer with a 3-pointer to regain and hold the lead through the end of the half.
Opening the second half trialing 40-38, Williams rolled in a layup and collected the foul to push the Rams ahead once again. Cameron would then respond with seven straight points to jump back in front. Angelo State however would not go away as a team effort with big shots from Antonio Singleton, Ran Tut, Kiair Crouch and Adler kept the squad poised and within striking range until the final rally.
The Rams will continue its two game road trip with a short trip south of Lawton to Wichita Falls, where it will face Midwestern State on Saturday, February 3 at 4 p.m. The Mustangs will enter Saturday's matchup looking to expand on a 66-44 win over Texas A&M – Kingsville.
