SAN ANGELO, Texas – Angelo State opens their 2026-27 basketball campaign on Friday afternoon as they travel to Alamosa, Colorado to take on the Adams State Grizzlies in a South Central Regional matchup at Plachy Hall with tipoff set for 1:00 p.m. CT.

THE MATCHUP                    

ANGELO STATE vs. ADAMS STATE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 - 1:00 P.M. CT
PLACHY HALL  |  ALAMOSA, COLORADO

NEWS & NOTES                  

OPENING THE SEASON
Angelo State begins their 61st season of NCAA Division II Basketball on Friday afternoon in Alamosa as the Rams are 38-22 in the season opener dating back to 1965. It will be the second time that ASU has faced off with the Grizzlies in the opener as Cinco Boone's inaugural season at the helm in 2015-16 saw the Rams claim a 75-71 win in Stephenville.
 
2025-26 REWIND
The 2025-26 campaign saw the Rams win their first five games of the season and 10 of their first 14 games on the way to a 17-14 overall record. Angelo State held the second-best scoring defense in the LSC a year ago, allowing just 67.4 points per game which ranked 30th in all of NCAA Division II basketball.
 
PLAYER TO WATCH LIST
Senior forward Jhordan Ryan was named to the LSC Preseason Players to Watch List following a stellar campaign in 2025-26. The Montserrat native ranked ninth in the league last season with 6.7 rebounds per game as he had eight double-doubles during his first season in the Concho Valley to earn All-LSC Third Team accolades.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
Angelo State was picked to finish eighth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll announced on October 19th by the league's offices in Richardson, Texas. The Rams received 499 points in voting conducted by the conference's head coaches, sports information directors and one media representative from each institution.
 
Defending LSC Champion DBU picked up 35 of the possible 49 first place votes for a total of 841 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Eastern New Mexico, Lubbock Christian, St. Edward's, Western New Mexico, St. Mary's, West Texas A&M, ASU, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Tyler, Oklahoma Christian, UT Dallas, UT Permian Basin, Midwestern State, Texas A&M International, Cameron and Sul Ross State.
 
ANGELO STATE HEAD COACH VINAY PATEL
Vinay Patel enters his fifth season at the helm of the Ram Basketball program for the 2026-27 season after taking over in San Angelo on April 29, 2002. Patel has mentored 14 All-LSC honorees during his time in the Concho Valley including Steve Webb being named the LSC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and Keyshawn Embery-Simpson was named the LSC Newcomer of the Year in 2024.
 
The Shamrock, Texas native holds over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience with stops at Northwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma City University, Rogers State and West Texas A&M.
 
A LOOK AT THE GRIZZLIES
Adams State enters the weekend 0-1 on the season following a 96-72 loss on the road to Western New Mexico on Monday evening. The Grizzlies shot 35.5% (27-of-76) from the floor with 39 rebounds, 11 assists, six blocks and seven steals but 18 costly turnovers led to 21 Mustang points.
 
Ta'Veus Randle led the way for ASU, scoring a team-high 13 points to go along with four boards and two assists followed by Rondell Lewis also in double-figures with 12 points and three blocks.
 
2025-26 saw the Grizzlies go 18-11 overall with a 12-8 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action as they advanced to the RMAC Tournament opening round before falling to Fort Lewis, 88-72. Adams State loses three All-Conference selections and their top four scorers off last year's squad as they were selected ninth in the 2026-27 RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Adams State averaged 86.1 points per game a year ago, shooting 46.7% from the floor including 34.2% from behind the arc to go along with 1,089 rebounds (37.6/game). The Grizzlies ranked third in the nation in fast break points (19.34/game) while also ranking 21st in scoring offense (86.1) and turnovers forced per game (16.14).
 
Emilek Jallow is the top returner for the Grizzlies as the senior forward from Morrison, Colorado saw time in 24 games with six starts last season. He went 81-of-155 (52.3%) from the field including 27-of-76 (35.5%) from behind the arc and 28-of-45 (62.2%) from the free throw line to average 9.0 points to go along with 86 rebounds, 26 assists, 17 steals and 23 blocks.
 
ADAMS STATE HEAD COACH KENNY TRIPP
Kenny Tripp is now in his fourth season leading the Adams State men's basketball program, taking over the Grizzlies in June of 2023. The Sacramento, California native holds an overall record of 38-48 during his time in Alamosa with a trip to the RMAC Tournament Opening Round in 2025-26.
 
Tripp spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Idaho as the Vandals improved their win total in each season. Tripp also has coaching stops at Washington State, MSU Denver and Regis.
 
THE SERIES
Friday afternoon marks the eighth all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Rams and Grizzlies as ASU is 5-2 in the series that dates back to 1992. Angelo State is 0-1 during games played in Alamosa, falling 78-69 to the Grizzlies back on November 18, 2000.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Junell Center is one of the most recognizable buildings on the ASU campus and is home to one of the finest playing courts in NCAA Division II – Stephens Arena. The university's Board of Regents approved the plans for the new center, at an estimated cost of $20 million. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in the summer of 1999, and construction was completed in December of 2001. The first athletic contest held in the facility was on January 17, 2002, as the Rams and Rambelles hosted Texas A&M-Kingsville in a basketball doubleheader.
 
Under head coach Vinay Patel, the Rams are 42-8 inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, good enough for a .840 winning percentage. The Rams won their first 21 games on their home court under Patel's guidance, including a 13-0 mark in 2022-23 during Patel's first season at the helm.
 
DRAWING A CROWD
The Rams ranked third in the Lone Star Conference in attendance during the 2026-27 campaign as they averaged 749 fans over their 12 home contests with an overall attendance mark of 8,976.
 
ON THIS DATE
The Rams are 2-0 all-time in games played on November 13th as both contests were season openers in 2015 and 2021.
 
2015 - vs. Adams State - W, 75-71
2021 - vs. New Mexico Highlands - W, 96-94
 
BUILDING A ROSTER
Angelo State returns six letter winners from the 2025-26 campaign as four of them started at least one game for the Rams, those six players combined for 2,048 minutes and 37 starts a year ago. The remainder of the roster for Coach Patel is comprised of six transfers and three true freshmen.
 
STAFF CONTINUITY
Every full-time member of the Angelo State coaching staff returns for the 2026-27 season. Connor Moore came to the Concho Valley with Coach Patel in 2022 as the North Dakota native is now in his fifth season on the sidelines in San Angelo. Cole Rabedeaux enters his third season on Patel's staff following time as an assistant at Winona State. ASU also added Gavin Ralph as a graduate assistant following a standout playing career at Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Platteville.
 
STARTING OFF STRONG
Angelo State is 18-5 (.783) during the month of November since the start of the 2022-23 campaign while also going 36-11 (.766) in November and December combined under Coach Patel.
 
MATCHING UP WITH THE RMAC
The Rams will battle a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) on four different occasions this season. This weekend features in-region contests against Adams State and Western Colorado followed by neutral contests against Fort Lewis (Nov. 28) in Lubbock and UCCS (Dec. 18) in Las Vegas.