SAN ANGELO – Off the heels of a successful 4-0 homestand, the Angelo State men's basketball team hits the road to kick off a five-game-in-ten-days stretch, starting this weekend with a trip to San Antonio and Austin to face St. Mary's and St. Edward's.
The Rams are 13-3 on the season and 9-1 in conference play; they are first in the Lone Star Conference West Division and have the best conference record in the LSC.
The Rams score 75.8 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent from three-point range.
The Rams boast the conference's toughest shooting defense, holding opponents to 40.5 percent shooting from the field; the Rams also pace the conference in rebound margin, out-rebounding opponents by 8.2 rebounds per game, doing so on an LSC-leading 38.6 rebounds per contest.
Kevon Godwin leads the LSC with a 38.2 percentage from three-point range and makes a conference-best 2.6 threes per game. The Floridian is sixth in the LSC with 16.1 points per game and is eighth with 1.6 steals per game.
Reggie Quezada and
Fredelin De La Cruz average double digits in scoring with 13.3 and 10.5 points, respectively. De La Cruz leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game, while Quezada is third in rebounds and steals.
Willie Guy is coming off a game in which he assisted a career-high eight times; the Rams have averaged 16.8 assists per game in their current winning streak, and this season, they have averaged 10.7 assists per game in losses and 14.8 assists per game in wins.
Steve Webb is third in the LSC with 1.9 steals per contest; the St. Louis native also grabs 4.1 rebounds per game in only 20 minutes of action.
Following this weekend, the Rams will play UT Permian Basin in Odessa next Tuesday before hosting Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico next weekend.
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's is 8-7 on the season and 5-5 in conference play; they are coming off a weekend in which they picked up road wins against UAFS and Oklahoma Christian.
The Rattlers average 74.1 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting from the field; the Rattlers lead the conference with 12.9 offensive rebounds per game.
Tyler Caron and Caleb Jordan pace the Rattler offense, scoring 14.7 and 13.7 points per game, respectively.
The Rattlers are 19-22 all-time against the Rams; last season, the Rams claimed two wins over the Rattlers, defeating them by ten in non-conference play in San Angelo before winning by 20 in San Antonio in a conference matchup.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's is 14-5 on the season and 8-2 in conference play; they are riding a three-game winning streak, with wins over DBU, Oklahoma Christian, and UAFS.
The Hilltoppers lead the conference in assists (17.1 per game), assist/turnover ratio (1.58), and blocks per game (4.3 per game); the Hilltoppers average 80.1 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting.
Jeff Gary, Uche Dibiamaka, and Sean Elkinton lead a Hilltoppers offense that has six players averaging eight or more points per game.
Gary shoots a conference-best 95.3 percent from the free-throw line, while Elkinton leads the conference with six double-doubles and shoots 58.2 percent from the field.
The Rams are 12-6 all-time versus the Hilltoppers; last season, the Hilltoppers won both matchups, winning by 16 points on both occasions.
