SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State men's basketball team struggled to find its shot in game two of the weekend's doubleheader against Texas A&M – Kingsville as the Rams fell 79-67 on Saturday night at Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.
Missing out on the weekend sweep, the Rams move to 1-3, 1-3 LSC on the season while the Javelinas improve to 3-1, 3-1 LSC.
A night after shooting 52 percent from the field, including a 62 percent mark in the first half, the Rams were unable to find the same success as TAMUK jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Down by eight, Angelo State fought back to come within one point of the lead as
Devaughn Thomas hit a shot to make it 20-19.
The Javelinas answered back, hitting back-to-back threes to ignite a 13-0 run with just over four minutes to go in the half. Tre Flowers led TAMUK with 13 points while Ellis Jones finished with 12.
Kingsville shot well from behind the arc, hitting 8-of-16 attempts in the first half while ASU continued to try and find a rhythm, going 0-for-10 from three-point range as the Javelinas took a 42-27 advantage into the halftime break.
For the second night in a row,
Sam Baker led the Rams in scoring, finishing with 18 points while
Elijah Moleon collected 14 points on the night. ASU finished shooting 39 percent from the field while winning the turnover battle 15 to 19.
The Rams opened the second half with some momentum, hitting back-to-back threes by Baker and
Sam Moore to cut the lead to single digits. Moore finished the night with 10 points and
Salisu Yahaya added six points and five rebounds.
Texas A&M – Kingsville continued to have an answer, shooting 46 percent on the night while converting 16-of-22 attempts from the free-throw line.
The Rams return to action after the new year as they host Oklahoma Christian in a two-game series beginning on Jan. 2, at home.