SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State men's basketball team is set to kick off the 2021-22 campaign as the Rams begin the season at the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge hosted by New Mexico at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M.
 
2020-21 RECAP:
The Rams are coming off an 8-10 overall before from a season ago, going 8-9 in conference play and advancing to the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament as the fifth overall seed. ASU picked up some big wins on the season, defeating St. Mary's 67-60 on the road while also taking down 17^th-ranked St. Edward's at home, beating the Hilltoppers 68-65. The Rams closed out the regular season winning their last three straight games, defeating Texas A&M – Commerce and sweeping two games against Texas A&M International on the road.
 
KEY RETURNERS:
Paul Williams leads the returners for the Rams as he prepares for his fourth season leading the offense. The point guard from Southaven, Miss., led ASU in scoring last year with an average of 13.9 points per game. He also collected 69 assists and 19 steals on the season. Also returning in Devaughn Thomas who tallied 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and was the third-highest scorer for the Rams. Other key returners include Kevon Godwin, Andre Nunley, and Salisu Yahaya who all played 13-plus minutes per game for the Rams.
 
LSC OUTLOOK:
The Rams earned the seventh spot in the LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, collecting 466 total points. Lubbock Christian was selected to win the conference with 26 first-place votes, followed by West Texas A&M in second and DBU in third. The Javelinas came in fourth in the poll while St. Edward's rounds out the top five.
 
RMAC/LSC CHALLENGE OVERVIEW:
Angelo State begins its season at the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge hosted by the University of New Mexico. Four teams will compete in the conference crossover featuring ASU and Eastern New Mexico from the LSC and New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis from the RMAC.
 
Game One: Angelo State vs. New Mexico Highlands – Saturday, Nov. 13 – 5 p.m. CST.
All-Time Series: The Cowboys leads the all-time series 1-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 28, 2009: NMHU 109-100 – Las Vegas, N.M.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS:
The Cowboys will open their season against the Rams in game one of the conference challenge. NMHU did not compete during the 2020-21 season and finished the 2019-20 campaign with an 18-10 overall record, going 13-9 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, losing in the first round of the RMAC tournament.
 
NMHU's leading scorer from the 2019-20 season returns in Sammy Barnes-Thompkins who averaged 25 points per game, collecting 66 assists and 56 steals. Also returning is Desmond Carpenter who tallied 8.4 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds. The Cowboys led the RMAC in scoring that season, averaging 88.3 points per game but struggled defensively, giving up 84.1 points per game which was the third-highest total allowed in the conference.
 
Game Two: Angelo State vs. Fort Lewis – Sunday, Nov. 14 – 1 p.m. CST.
All-Time Series: The all-time series is tied at 2-2.
Last Meeting: Mar. 13, 2016: ASU 87-66 – Wichita Falls, Texas
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS:
The Skyhawks will open their season against Eastern New Mexico prior to facing the Rams in the conference challenge. FLC earned a 7-9 overall record in the shortened 2020-21 season, going 6-8 in the RMAC. They advanced to the RMAC postseason tournament, falling in the opening round to Black Hills State. The Skyhawks finished the 2019-20 season with a 13-15 record, going 7-15 in conference play, missing the postseason.
 
Riley Farris returns as the leading scorer for the Skyhawks, averaging 21.6 points per game along with a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. Brenden Boatwright who was second on the team in scoring with 11.1 points per game also returns along with Dunnell Stafford who was the assist leader in 2020-21 with 46 assists on the year.
 
The last time the Skyhawks faced the Rams was during the 2015-16 South-Central Regionals where the Rams advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with an 87-66 victory.