SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team was defeated by Tarleton State, 66-59, on Saturday evening in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.

The Rams fall to 17-7 overall and 8-6 in the conference with the loss. With only two players reaching double-figures in Antonio Singleton (18) and Daron Mims (15) this was the lowest scoring game of the season for ASU. Despite leading the Texans in second chance points (15-7) and points in the paint (20-14), the Angelo State offense was 31.7 percent from short and 28.8 percent from beyond the 3-points line.

Singleton also headed the ASU defensive efforts with seven boards. While, James Kirksey pocketed a team leading three steals and Brandon Williams added to his overall team lead in blocks with a trio for the game. With the win TSU improves to 15-9, 10-5 LSC and maintains its spot ahead of the Rams in the conference standings.

ASU got a slow start to the game as it trailed 5-2 with 13:15 on the clock. This is when fastbreak layup by Ja'Michael Brown followed by a Ran Tut layup in the paint and a Kirksey 3-ball got the Rams back into the game with a 9-8 lead at the 10:37 mark. However, the Rams would be unable to hold on as TSU pulled back in front.

It would not be until 4:24, that Singleton would hit back-to-back jumpers, once again regaining the two-point lead (20-18). A pair of Texan shots from the charity stripe briefly brought the score back to an even 20, before Brown was sent to the line to give ASU a one-point advantage heading into the break.

Singleton opened the second half, building upon the Rams momentum sinking a deep ball from downtown. With TSU creeping up and cutting the score to an even 24 with 17:26 left in the game, another 3-ball from junior forward, Will Adler, would keep the Rams out in front. The two squads would exchange the lead several more times before Tarleton State pulled ahead for the final time with 9:52 left in the second half.

With 1:21 left in the game, a Mims 3-pointer and jumper from inside the paint would cut the Texans lead from double-digits points to just five (58-53). After a pair of free throws by TSU, an Adler shot from the arch cut the lead to four (60-56). However, the Texans would stifle the Rams' push to pull off another late game rally and took home the win.

Angelo State hits the road next week to take on nationally ranked No.11/13 UT-Permian Basin and No. 7/8 West Texas A&M. The Rams will get the week started with the Falcons in Odessa on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and continue with the Buffs on Saturday at 4 p.m.