ODESSA, Texas – The Angelo State University men's basketball team closed out the regular season and clinched a first round bye into the conference tournament, after defeating the University of Texas Permian Basin Falcons on Saturday afternoon, 92-67. Paul Williams scored a career and season-high 26 points to carry the Rams offense. With the victory, head coach Cinco Boone earned his 100^th ASU career win.

The Rams improved to 19-7 overall and 15-7 in conference action.

In Case You Missed It:

• The Falcons came out quick to get a 5-0 jump over the Rams within the first minute of the game but Williams put the Blue and Gold on the board with a three to trail 5-3.
• At the 13:32 mark, ASU grabbed their first lead of the game with Williams knocking down back to back three-pointers to lead 14-10.
• Two minutes later at 11:23, the Rams and Falcons tied 16-16 but Marcel Pettway gave the lead back to ASU at 18-16. The Falcons answered back to tie it once more at 18-18.
• From there, both teams went back and forth with baskets as it was tied again at 25-all but Williams put the lead back in favor of the Rams and started a 10-0 run with a three. Andres Ibarguen scored five points and Collin Turner contributed with two points as ASU led 35-25 with 3:43 remaining in the first half.
• From there, the Blue and Gold headed into halftime with a 43-34 lead.
• At the start of the second half, Pettway slammed one down to increase the Rams lead to 45-34.
• The Falcons scored two quick baskets to keep the score close as they trailed 45-37 at the 18:15 mark but Ibarguen pushed the lead back up to 47-37.
• From there, the Rams would not relinquish the lead as they dominated the whole second half to claim a 92-67 victory and clinched the No. 4 spot in the conference to secure an automatic bye to Frisco, Texas for the second round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament.

Key Players:

• Joining Williams on the offense, Ibarguen notched 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He went 10-of-14 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
• Turner finished the night with 16 points and Burone Edwards added 14.
• Pettway led the defense with nine rebounds and added four points.

Up Next:
The Rams will head to Frisco, Texas for the second round of the LSC tournament on Friday, March 6 and will play the winner of the round one matchup between Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. on Friday.