SAN ANGELO – Kevon Godwin and Willie Guy scored 19 points each, and the Rams' defense held the Lone Star Conference's highest-scoring offense to only 77 points and 40 percent shooting as the Rams claimed an 82-77 victory over West Texas A&M on Thursday night inside the Junell Center.

"THANK YOU to all the fans that showed up to support us tonight!" said head coach Vinay Patel. "Our guys played with a lot of energy tonight and did a nice job sticking to the game plan. We did a great job moving the ball and helping each other on the defensive end. West Texas A&M is very physical and difficult to defend. We had several players step up defensively and make plays for us."

The win is the seventh straight for the Rams on their home court, a streak that dates back to last season, while Patel improves to a perfect 5-0 on their home court as the Rams' head coach.

The win is also the first for the Rams over the Buffs inside the Junell Center since January 13^th, 2016. The Rams improve to 10-3 overall on the season and 6-1 in conference play.

A slow start for the Rams and a quick start for the Buffs saw the visitors jump out to a nine-point advantage, but a pair of buckets by both Kylon Owens and Reggie Quezada helped the Rams draw the game back level, with the score at halftime tied at 30-all.

The Rams, who shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, improved their output in the second half as they shot 65.4 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from three-point range.

The Rams' 58 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent mark from deep represent the best marks they have posted in a game this season. The Rams dominated the paint 36-18 and out-rebounded the Buffs 36-31.

Godwin and Guy each made three three-pointers en route to their 19-point performances. Guy only attempted nine field goals as he went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Reggie Quezada scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, and Fredelin De La Cruz and Tre Mitchell scored nine points each.

For only the second time in his career, Devaughn Thomas recorded double-digit rebounds, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds. His previous career-high of ten came on January 4^th, 2021, versus Oklahoma Christian.

Thomas also added seven points and led the game with four assists.

"Thomas was big time for us on both ends of the floor tonight," said Patel. "He especially did a great job rebounding for us. We battled some early foul trouble, and I thought him [Thomas] and Tre [Mitchell] came in and gave us a huge burst."

The Rams continue their homestand on Saturday afternoon against Lubbock Christian; the Chaps are coming off an 83-74 win over UTPB in Odessa.

"We have a quick turnaround before we play an excellent LCU team on Saturday," said Patel. "There is never a night off in this league, and our guys will have to be ready for another fight."