SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State men's basketball team escaped with a win in the first game of the Ed Messbarger Classic as the Rams defeated Missouri Baptist 70-67 in their first appearance of the season at home.
 
The Rams have now won five straight games to start the season 5-0 overall while the Spartans move to 5-4 on the year.
 
Under the direction of former ASU assistant Preston Ingram, the Spartans got off to a strong start, building a 15-4 lead over the Rams midway through the first half of play.
 
The Rams continued to fight, cutting the gap to only one point before taking their first lead of the game 29-27 after a three-pointer by Kelyn Pennie.
 
MBU closed out the half with a 5-0 run, taking a 36-35 advantage into the break.
 
Dante Moses led the Rams with 20 points on the night while adding four rebounds and two steals. Following him was Carroll with 18 points while Lathaniel Bastian and Paul Williams added 11 and 10 points respectively.
 
In the second half, the Spartans continued to hold on to a narrow lead for a majority of the period.
 
Down 50-46, the Rams regained the lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the game, using a 6-0 run capped off by a layup form Tyrell Carrol to make it 52-50. The lead didn't last long as the Spartans scored seven straight points to take their largest lead of the second half at 57-52.
 
After trading buckets back and forth, the Rams took the lead for good as Moses hit a jumper with 1:36 to play to go up 66-65. Lathaniel Bastian followed that up with a fast break dunk while two free throws by Carroll make it 70-65 with 26 seconds to go.
 
ASU shot 41 percent from the field while living at the free throw line, drawing 31 free throw attempts while making 23. The Rams also forced 24 turnovers and scoring 39 points from the bench.
 
The Rams continue the Ed Messbarger Classic tomorrow night as they take on Arkansas Tech at 7 p.m., in the Junell Center.