SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team kicks off their first whole weekend of action in 2023 with a four-game homestand that starts inside the Junell Center with West Texas A&M on Thursday night before the Rams host Lubbock Christian on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday night's game against the Buffs is also Concho Valley First Responders Appreciation Night. All Concho Valley first responders, as well as Tom Green County and City of San Angelo employees and their spouses and dependents, will be granted free admission into both games on Thursday with the showing of an employee ID.

The Rams are 9-3 on the season and 5-1 in Lone Star Conference play; they are coming off a weekend road trip in which they defeated Western New Mexico before falling to Eastern New Mexico.

As a team, Vinay Patel's squad leads the LSC in field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin, as the Rams hold their opponents to 40.8 percent shooting from the field while out-rebounding the opposition by 7.2 rebounds per game.
The Rams also rank in the top five in the conference in rebounds per game (2^nd – 38.2) and steals per game (4^th – 8.9).

Kevon Godwin is tenth in the conference in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game. The Florida native shoots 37.7 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from behind the three-point line. Godwin is also eighth in the conference with 1.75 steals per game.

Big man Fredelin De La Cruz is sixth in the conference in rebounding with 7.0 boards per contest; he is also fifth in offensive rebounds with 2.75 per game.

Steve Webb continues to show his pedigree on the defensive end, as he is fifth in the LSC with 1.83 steals per game. The St. Louis native is coming off a weekend in New Mexico, where he nabbed eight steals in 50 minutes of action. The graduate student guard is also ninth in offensive rebounds with 2.17 per game.

Following this weekend, the Rams stay at home for next weekend as they are slated to host Midwestern State and Cameron.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M is 8-4 on the season and is the lone unbeaten in LSC play with a 6-0 record. The Buffs picked up home wins this past weekend against Midwestern State and Cameron. Three of the Buffs' four losses have come against ranked opponents, and three of their four losses have been by one possession.

The Buffs possess the highest-scoring offense in the LSC, scoring 82.7 points per game; they also lead the conference in taking care of the ball, averaging a conference-low 10.9 turnovers per game.  

The Buffs boast four players – Julius Brown, Larry Wise, Damion Thornton, and Zach Toussaint – averaging double-digit scoring, with Brown leading the team with 16 points per game. Wise and Thornton score 15.8 and 15.6 points per game, while Toussaint adds 11.8 per game.

The Rams are 22-53 all-time against the Buffs and went 1-2 against the Buffs last season, claiming a win in Canyon. The win last season represents the lone win for the Rams in their previous 15 matchups against the Buffs; the Rams last beat the Buffs in San Angelo on January 13^th, 2016.
 
SCOUTING THE CHAPS
Lubbock Christian is 8-4 on the season and 4-2 in conference play. They are coming off a weekend in which they beat Cameron before falling to Midwestern State.

The Chaps lead the conference in field goal percentage (47.7 percent) as well as three-point percentage (36.6 percent) and three-pointers made per game (9.4).

Rowan Mackenzie leads the team with 19.1 points per game while shooting 56.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range. Russell Harrison scores 15.7 points per game, and Aaron Gonzales chips in 10.5 points per contest. Harrison also leads the conference in three-point shooting with a 36.6 percent mark from deep.

The Rams are 23-8 all-time against the Chaps; last season, the then-1^st-ranked Chaps defeated the Rams 85-79 in a double-overtime thriller in San Angelo. The Rams are winless in their previous three meetings against the Chaps, having last beaten Lubbock Christian on March 6^th, 2020, in the LSC Tournament.