SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team returns to action at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in a Lone Star Conference showdown with Tarleton State at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.

The Rams (2-4, 0-2 LSC) are 2-1 at home this season but are also looking to snap a four-game losing streak and earn their first conference win of the season after falling to Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M last week.

“You always want to take care of the home floor but especially because we are in conference play,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “We have to get the game going here. You don't want to dig yourself a big hole and need to take care of home court in the LSC.”

Fans who bring a new unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots campaign will receive two tickets for the price of one.

Tarleton State (4-1), which finished last season with a 15-3 LSC record and was the preseason pick to win the LSC this season, will be playing its first conference game of the season and also its first road game. The Texans have won their last four games after opening the season with a 73-60 loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God. TSU is scoring 72 points per game while holding opponents to 62.4 with Coleman Furst leading the team with 16 points per game.

“They are a very physical and big team,” Rike said. “They are very talented and they have fast guards. Coleman is back and he having an excellent year and is a very heady player. They'll be a tough opponent for us.”

TSU is coming off a 77-61 win over Arlington Baptist which is the only common opponent the Rams and Texans share so far this season. ASU beat Arlington Baptist 95-68 on Nov. 18 with Chris Talkington leading the way with 25 points and Zach Jones grabbing nine rebounds. Furst scored a career-high 23 points against ABC for the Texans.

Talkington leads Angelo State this season in scoring with 16 points per game and seven rebounds per game, while Jovan Austin is leading the Rams with 15.5 points per game in conference action (12.4 overall) and 19 assists in the first six games of his collegiate career. Antonio Dye is averaging 12.4 points and 14 assists and 24 rebounds.

Dakota Rawls has contributed 31 rebounds along with 8.3 points per, while Bryan Hammond is averaging six points and has 15 assists.

Furst leads Tarleton State with 16 points per game with Davene Carter adding 11.2 and De'Andre Upchurch scoring 10.6. The Texans are shooting 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arch and have created 24 more turnovers than they have committed.    

Angelo State leads the all-time series 34-27, but the Texans have won the previous four meetings. This will be the Rams' final game at home for a month as they will go on a four-game road trip along with an extended holiday break. ASU will travel to play at Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game before traveling to play at Lubbock Christian (Dec. 17), UTPB (Dec. 19) and Cameron (Jan. 2). The Rams return home on Jan. 5 where they will host Midwestern State.