SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State men's basketball team is back inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena as they welcome Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico into San Angelo. The Rams and the Lobos play on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting the Mustangs on Saturday at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Rams dropped both road games this week, falling to league-leading St. Mary's 68-60 before St. Edward's claimed a 72-57 win over the Rams on Saturday afternoon in the capital city. 

EVANS PASSES 1K POINTS
Graduate student guard Kaden Evans passed the 1,000-point milestone for his career on Saturday in the Rams' win over Lubbock Christian. The Kansas City native is a career 39.6 percent shooter from the field and 36.1 percent from three. Evans is just as impactful on defense, with three games this season where he has grabbed four steals. His 213 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 40-17 in LSC play at Angelo State and 22-4 at home in LSC play. Patel is 7-0 against Sul Ross and Western New Mexico and 3-0 against those teams in San Angelo, claiming a pair of road wins over those teams at the beginning of 2025.

RAMS' DEFENSE
The Rams possess one of the most formidable defenses in the conference and Division II. Opponents score only 65.7 points per game against the Rams, the best in the LSC and 17th in the nation. Their opponent's field goal percentage of 41 is 30th in the country, and their opponent's shooting mark of 28.8 percent from three is 9th in Division II. The Rams are 11-3 this season when they hold opponents to under 70 points and 5-0 when they hold the opposition to under 60 points. 

THE 300 CLUB
Saturday's game against Western New Mexico marks a pair of milestones, with it being the Rams' 300th game to take place inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena and Vinay Patel's 300th career game as head coach. Through 298 games, the Rams are 210-88 (.705 winning percentage), and Patel owns a career record of 177-121 (.594 winning percentage). 

RAMS ADD NINE
Angelo State recruited nine newcomers in 2024-25, including three from Division I and two from Division II. 

    Denim Dawson
    Junior * 6-6 * Guard
    San Bernardino, Calif. * Tennessee State
Averaged 16 points and five rebounds per game at Orange Lutheran HS; Trinity League MVP

    Sterling Gaston-Chapman
    Senior * 6-4 * Guard
    Wichita, Kan. * UT Arlington
Three-star recruit out of Campus HS in Wichita; two-time all-metro and two-time all-state selection

    Jalen Gilmore
    Junior * 6-3 * Guard
    Jacksonville, Fla. * Lynn
Averaged 9.5 points and 5.2 assists per game in 2023-24 for Lynn
    
    Blessing Adesipe
    Junior * 6-6 * Guard
    Houston, Texas * UT San Antonio
NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention at Miles College; scored 1,132 points in two seasons

    Darius Brady
    Freshman * 6-0 * Guard
    Houston, Texas * Kingwood HS
2023-24 Second Team All-District selection for Kingwood HS 

    Chace Fields
    Sophomore * 6-6 * Forward
    San Angelo, Texas * Adrian College
Averaged 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game for Adrian College

    Kollin Allbright
    Freshman * 6-9 * Forward
    San Angelo, Texas * Central HS
Averaged 14 points per game in prep career; two-time first team all-district honoree

    Damonze Woods
    Junior * 6-7 * Forward
    Amarillo, Texas * Odessa College
Averaged 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds; District 5A All-State selection as a junior at Amarillo HS

    Kaden Evans
    Graduate Student * 6-4 * Guard
    Kansas City, Mo. * Emporia State
Led Division II in steals as a freshman in 2020-21 with 3.1 per game; 4x All-Conference selection at Oak Park HS

PERSONAL BESTS THIS SEASON
Seven Rams have recorded a personal best this season.
    • Blessing Adesipe scored nine points against Western New Mexico on January 3. He had a pair of assists and three steals in his home debut against Arlington Baptist on November 19 and grabbed ten rebounds against Lubbock Christian on January 18. 
    • 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. He made eight free throws in ten attempts against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 11.
    • 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 a new career high in rebounds (12) in the Rams' win over Arlington Baptist on Nov. 19 as he recorded his first career double-double. He scored a career-high 22 points against Sul Ross on January 5. He assisted five times against Texas A&M-Kingsville on December 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 29-4 record in Patel's three seasons in San Angelo, good enough for a .879 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 68.5 points per game on 44.8 percent from the field and 35.1 percent shooting from three. The Rams are shooting 69.7 percent from the charity stripe. 
• The Rams are fifth in the LSC in three-point percentage, shooting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc. They are eighth in three-pointers made per game, with 7.2 makes per contest.
• The Rams average 34.1 rebounds per game, out-rebounding opponents by 0.8 per contest.
• Defensively, the Rams hold opponents to 65.7 points per game on 41 percent field-goal shooting and 28.8 percent from three-point range. 
• Sterling Gaston-Chapman leads the Rams in scoring with 13.1 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. The senior also leads the team with 2.2 assists per game. 
• Kaden Evans leads the team with 1.7 steals per game.

SUL ROSS STATE
NABC RANK: N/A
2024-25 RECORD: 3-15 2-11 LSC

Watch LIVE on FloCollege | Live Stats | Listen Live

• The Lobos are 3-15 on the season and 2-11 in LSC play, having won their past two games on Thursday. They are 1-5 on the road this season. 
• They score 73.8 points per game on 44.9 percent from the field and 29.1 percent from three. 
• Defensively, opponents score 67.3 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting and 30 percent from three—the Lobo get out-rebound opponents by 8.6 boards per contest.
• Three Lobos average double figures in scoring, led by Ethan Yancy's 17.2 points per game. Yancy scored a conference-high 44 points in the Lobos win over Eastern New Mexico on January 16th. 
• Bryce Harris leads the team with 5.8 rebounds per game.  
• Cam Clardy leads the team with 2.3 assists per game, and Myles Amason averages 1.2 blocks off the bench. 
• The Rams are 33-6 all-time against the Lobos. On January 5th, the Rams claimed a 77-64 win in Alpine, led by Gaston-Chapman's 22 points.

WESTERN NEW MEXICO
NABC RANK: N/A
2024-25 RECORD: 4-15, 3-10 LSC

Watch LIVE on FloCollege | Live Stats | Listen Live

• The Mustangs are 4-15 on the season and 3-10 in LSC play; they are 2-7 on the road this season, last winning in Lubbock against LCU on January 11th. 
• They score 65.7 points per game on 39.8 percent shooting from the field and 31.3 percent from three. 
• Defensively, opponents score 77.1 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting and 32.2 percent from three.
• The Mustangs are out-rebounded by 3.2 boards per contest. 
• Three Mustangs score in double figures, led by Matthew Okoye's 17.4 points per game.
• Donovan Black leads the team with 4.9 rebounds per game, while Carson Kelly averages one steal per contest. Kelly also leads the team with 2.7 assists per game. 
• Yves Nkomba leads the team with 0.7 blocked shots per game.
• The Rams are 15-4 all-time against the Mustangs. In each team's first game of the 2025 calendar year, the Rams went on a late run to secure a 75-63 win in Silver City.