SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State men's basketball team will travel west to open the 2025 portion of the schedule. They will make the foray into Silver City for a Friday night contest against Western New Mexico before ending their weekend on Sunday afternoon in Alpine against Sul Ross.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Rams split their games at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic, defeating Montana State-Billings 61-53 before falling to No. 10 Colorado School of Mines 71-54. Damonze Woods grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in the win against the Yellowjackets, while Sterling Gaston-Chapman led the Rams with 15 points. Gaston-Chapman was the lone Ram to score in double figures against the Orediggers with 11 points.
 
EVANS CLOSES IN ON 1K POINTS
Graduate student guard Kaden Evans enters the 2025 calendar year with 970 career points, only 30 off from reaching the 1,000-point milestone. The Kansas City native is a career 39.9 percent shooter from the field and 36.6 percent from three. Evans is just as impactful on defense, with three games this season where he has grabbed four steals. His 206 career steals are third among all active Division II players and 19th among all players in all three NCAA divisions.
 
PATEL IN CONFERENCE PLAY
Vinay Patel is 36-13 in LSC play at Angelo State and is 14-11 on the road in conference play. Patel is 5-0 against this weekend's opposition and 2-0 on the road.
 
RAMS' DEFENSE
The Rams possess one of the most formidable defenses in the conference and Division II. Opponents score only 63.4 points per game against the Rams, which ranks second in the LSC and 13th in the nation. Their opponent's field goal percentage of 39.4 is 18th in the country, and their opponent's shooting mark of 29.4 percent from three is 30th in Division II.
 
PERSONAL BESTS THIS SEASON
Seven Rams have recorded a personal best this season.
• Blessing Adesipe scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in the Rams' win over No. 22 Fort Lewis on November 9. He also had two assists and three steals in his home debut versus Arlington Baptist on November 19. He blocked a shot against Oklahoma Christian on December 14.
• Kollin Allbright grabbed his first career rebound in his collegiate debut versus Arlington Baptist on Nov. 19.
• Darius Brady assisted for the first time in his career versus Arlington Baptist on Nov. 19.
• Denim Dawson scored 13 points in the Rams' win over Texas A&M International on Dec. 7. He has also recorded three assists twice and blocked a pair of shots against Southern Arkansas on November 30.
• Kendrick Delahoussaye scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds in the Rams' win over Southern Arkansas on Nov. 30. He assisted six times against No. 10 Colorado Mines on Dec. 20.
• Sterling Gaston-Chapman set new career highs in points (20) and rebounds (12) in the Rams' win over Arlington Baptist on Nov. 19 for his first career double-double. He had five assists in the Rams' win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 5.
• Damonze Woods scored 17 points against Cameron on December 16. He grabbed 12 rebounds against Montana State-Billings on Dec. 19.

HOME COOKIN' 
The Rams have made the Junell Center-Stephens Arena a fortress under head coach Vinay Patel, accumulating a 27-2 record in Patel's two seasons in San Angelo, good enough for a .931 winning percentage. His first season featured the Rams going 13-0 on their home court; the second season they've been undefeated on their home court across a season. The Rams went 17-0 inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena in 2014-15.
 
NEED TO KNOW 

• Angelo State averages 69.6 points per game on 45.2 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three. The Rams are shooting 68.9 percent from the charity stripe.
• The Rams are fifth in the LSC in three-point percentage, shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc. They are fifth in three-pointers made per game, with 7.9 makes per contest.
• The Rams average 34.5 rebounds per game, out-rebounding opponents by 1.5 per contest.
• Defensively, the Rams hold opponents to 63.4 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range.
• Sterling Gaston-Chapman leads the Rams in scoring with 12.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game.
• Kendrick Delahoussaye leads the team with 2.2 assists per game.
• Damonze Woods leads the team in blocked shots, while Kaden Evans leads the team with 1.7 steals per game.

 
WESTERN NEW MEXICO
NABC RANK: N/A
2024-25 RECORD: 2-9, 1-4 LSC

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• The Mustangs are 2-9 on the season and 1-4 in LSC play, with their wins this season coming over Southwest (NM) and Sul Ross.
• They score 64.8 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 31.5 percent from three.
• Defensively, opponents score 74.8 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting and only 31.5 percent from three. The Mustangs get out-rebounded by 2.6 boards per game.
• Three Mustangs average double figures in scoring, led by Matthew Okoye's 17 per contest.
• Isaiah Marin scores 13.3 points and grabs six rebounds per game. Marin also leads the team in steals.  
• Carson Kelly, Marin, and Aiden Wall each average two assists per game.
• The Rams are 14-4 all-time against the Mustangs and 4-0 against WNMU under head coach Vinay Patel. Last season, the two teams went to overtime in Silver City, with the Rams prevailing 98-91.

 
SUL ROSS STATE
NABC RANK: N/A
2024-25 RECORD: 1-9, 0-5 LSC

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• In their first season at the Division II level, the Lobos are 1-9 and winless in five LSC games. Their lone win came over Navajo Tech on November 12.
• They score 69.1 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 29.9 percent from three.
• Defensively, opponents score 79.9 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting and 38.6 percent from three.
• Opponents out-rebound the Lobos by 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Three Lobos score in double figures, led by Ethan Yancy's 16.3 points per game.
• Bryce Harris leads the team with 6.8 rebounds a game.
• Senior Cam Clardy dishes out 2.5 assists per game.
• Myles Amason leads the team in blocks, while Yancy leads the Lobos with two steals per game.
• The Rams are 32-6 all-time against Sul Ross and 1-0 against the Lobos under Patel. On November 26, 2022, the Rams won 75-53 over the Lobos in San Angelo.