SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team capped off their first homestand of the season with a 71-63 victory over Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon inside Stephens Arena at the Junell Center; the win improves the Rams to 4-0 on their home court and 5-1 on the season while remaining perfect in two conference games.
Except for 48 seconds early in the contest, the Rams held the lead against the Dustdevils throughout the game.
"I am very proud of the poise our guys showed today," said Patel. "We withstood a huge run by International in the second half and figured out how to come away with a win against an ultra-talented team."
For the game, the Rams shot 45.3 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from deep; they also went 14-for-15 from the free-throw line. On defense, they held the Dustdevils to 38.2 percent shooting and 25 percent from three-point range.
"Our guys have been doing a great job of competing on the defensive end, and there is no doubt that has led to some early success for us," said Patel.
The Rams recorded 17 assists to the Dustdevils' seven and maintained their streak of out-rebounding their opponent in every single game this season as they grabbed 41 rebounds to the visitors' 28.
"We are doing a much better job sharing the basketball," said Patel. "17 assists in back-to-back games is a step in the right direction. We have to continue to eliminate our unforced turnovers and value every possession more."
The Rams also blocked a season-high seven shots, led by
Steve Webb and
Devaughn Thomas, who stopped two shots each.
Shooting 60 percent from the field and 70 percent from three-point range in the first half, the Rams entered the break with a 44-30 lead; however, the Dustdevils went on a 24-11 run to start the second half and whittled the Rams' lead down to a point.
With the score 55-54 in favor of the Rams,
Kevon Godwin hit a three-pointer before a dunk by Barlow Alleruzzo, and an and-one lay-up from
Reggie Quezada extended the Ram lead back to seven points.
For the last six minutes of the contest, the Dustdevils never got within three points of the Rams' lead.
For the second game in a row, Godwin led the Rams in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The Florida native made three three-pointers while also grabbing five rebounds and three of the Rams' five steals.
Godwin leads the conference in scoring in LSC play through two games, averaging 25.0 points per game.
Quezada finished with 16 points; he was one of four Rams to record three assists and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
The Rams are one of six teams in the LSC to open conference play with a pair of wins; they are on the road next weekend to face UAFS on Thursday and Oklahoma Christian on Saturday, with both teams starting 0-2 in conference play.
