SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State University men's basketball team begins the New Year at home, hosting the University of Texas Permian Basin Falcons and the Western New Mexico University Mustangs on Thursday, January 2 and Saturday, January 4, respectively. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Game Info:
 
Angelo State v. UT Permian Basin
Thursday, January 2 | 7 p.m.
 
Angelo State v. Western New Mexico
Saturday, January 4 | 4 p.m.
 
Series Info:
The Rams and Falcons meet for the 21^st time on the hardwood as both teams are tied in the all-time series, 10-10. These two teams last met on February 23, 2019 with the Rams claiming a 93-80 victory over the Falcons. Collin Turner led the scorers with 19 points, while four other players scored in double digits. Valentine Sangoyomi led the ASU defense, grabbing 10 rebounds. ASU currently holds a two game win streak against the Falcons.
 
ASU and WNMU meet for the 12^th time in school history and Angelo State leads the all-time series, 9-2. These two teams met last on February 21, 2019 in San Angelo with the Blue and Gold defeating the Mustangs, 99-71. Antonio Singleton led the Rams offense, scoring 25 points in 31 minutes of action. Josh Boutte notched a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the defense. Three other Ram players scored in double digits to help the ASU offense.
 
Scouting UT Permian Basin
The Falcons enter the weekend with an 11-3 record overall and a 4-1 conference record. Pat Dembley, who leads the conference in scoring, averages 21.6 points a game and leads the Falcon offense. Dembley shoots 47.3 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.2 percent from the charity stripe. He has totaled 74 assists and 38 steals. On defense, Miles Washington has grabbed 70 rebounds, 53 on defense and 17 on offense, and averages 5.8 boards a game. He has also blocked 14 shots.
 
Scouting Western New Mexico
The Mustangs come to Stephens Arena at the Junell Center with a 3-8 record overall and a 1-2 conference record. Elijah Holifield leads the Mustang offense with 14.4 points a game. Holifield shoots 45.6 percent from the floor, 44.7 percent from the three-point arc, and 54.5 percent from the line. Holifield also leads the defense for WMNU with 38 rebounds, 32 defensively and six offensively.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams last played on December 19 and December 21 on the road at Midwestern State and Cameron to close out the 2019 portion of their season. Against Midwestern State, the Blue and Gold fell short to the Mustangs, 80-74. Jeremy Hayes finished the night with 16 points, while Andres Ibarguen (15), Ronald Bell (14), Paul Williams (14), and Turner (11) all finished in double digits as well to contribute to the Ram offense. Against Cameron, ASU picked up a win, 84-75, to end in the win column before the break. Turner led the offense with 19 points, while four other players notched double digits as well. Bell finished with 10 points and nine rebounds to lead the Ram defense.

Key Players
Ronald Bell leads the Ram offense and ranks eighth for scoring in the conference with a 16.6 points per game average. Bell is shooting 53.7 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from downtown, and 66.7 percent from the line. On defense, Ibarguen ranks second in the conference and leads the ASU defenders with 83 total rebounds and a 9.2 rebound per game average.
 
Up Next:
Following the weekend, Angelo State heads to Lubbock, Texas, to take on Lubbock Christian for the second time this season on Saturday, January 11 at 4 p.m.