COMMERCE, Texas – The Angelo State University men's basketball team battled in a close contest to Texas A&M-Commerce, pulling out a 72-69 victory on Saturday afternoon. Andres Ibarguen notched his seventh double-double on the season and Ronald Bell registered his third double-double of the season.

The Rams improve to 14-4 overall and 10-4 in conference action.

In Case You Missed It:

• The Lions managed to get up to an 8-2 lead over the Rams three minutes into the game and held on to a lead until the 14:14 mark when Jeremy Hayes tied it up at 11-11 with a jumper.
• The two teams continued to tie the game but TAMUC again was able to grab a little lead at the 9:54 mark, 23-18.
• Paul Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game back up late in the first half and give the Rams their first lead of the game, 30-27.
• At halftime, the Blue and Gold trailed 35-34.
• To start the second half, Ibarguen was sent to the line in the first 11 seconds to give ASU the lead back again at 36-35.
• The two teams then traded off the lead until the 15:25 mark when Angelo State took a three-point lead at 45-42 and held on to it and pushed it up to a nine-point lead at the 8:25 mark, 62-53.
• The Lions went on a 5-0 run to trail 62-58 at the 6:38 mark but Ibarguen ended the run a minute and a half later to push the Rams lead back up to 64-58.
• It was a battle the rest of the half, as the Blue and Gold were able to hold on to the lead and claimed the 72-69 victory.

Coach Boone's Comments:
"I thought our guys really did a good job this week of taking care of the basketball and having low turnover games. We also shot the ball from the perimeter better this road trip. Tonight we made some big plays including 19 offensive rebounds that I think made the difference in getting a good road win in conference play.

Notable Performances:

• Ibarguen led the Ram scorers with 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He went 100 percent from the field (5-5) and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (5-7).
• Bell also registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
• Camron Reedus finished the night with 13 points while Collin Turner had 12 points.

Up Next:
The Rams return home to host Eastern New Mexico and No. 3 West Texas A&M for a rematch on Thursday, February 6 and Saturday, February 8, respectively. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.