SAN ANGELO, Texas – The 18th-ranked Angelo State men's basketball team fought off Arkansas Tech in the final game of the Ed Messbarger Classic, taking the lead late to win 70-68 on Saturday night at the Junell Center.
Tied 68-68, Devaughn Thomas took the ball at the top of the key before hitting a step by jumper for the go-ahead bucket with three seconds to play in the game.
With the win, the Rams improve to 6-0 on the season concluding their non-conference tournament schedule.
The Rams got off to a strong start against the Wonder Boys, building an early lead after back-to-back threes from Kelyn Pennie and Tyrell Carroll.
Carroll finished with a team-high 17 points and added five assists while Thomas tallied 12 points and seven rebounds and Pennie finished with 11 points.
ASU used another 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the first half at 18-8 after Thomas hit a three before converting an and-one on the next possession.
Down 20-11, ATU scored 11 straight points, hitting three shots from beyond the arc to take a 22-20 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the first half before settling on a 34-32 advantage at the break.
The Rams outshot Arkansas Tech 41 percent to 38 while making 10 three-pointers on the night, shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc.
In the second half, the Rams scored five straight before a three-pointer by Pennie gave them the lead back at 43-42.
Both teams went back and forth, trading scores before the Wonder Boys change a five-point deficit into a five-point lead, scoring 10 straight points with 3:16 to play.
Down 68-63 with 1:33 on the clock, the Rams scored seven straight points to end the game as Paul Williams hit a three before Lathaniel Bastian made a contested layup to tie the game, setting up the game-winning shot.
Williams finished with 15 points on the night, going 4-for-4 from the line and hitting three three-pointers while Bastian collected eight boards to lead the Rams.
The Rams will return to the road next weekend as they take on Texas A&M International and Texas A&M – Kingsville in two nonconference contests beginning on Dec. 2.
