SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday against Northwood University at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center in its final non-conference game of the season.

The Rams (3-10) are coming off a 65-62 defeat to Texas-Permian Basin on Tuesday and will look to improve to 3-5 in non-conference play this season with a win over the Knights (1-17). ASU is 3-3 at home this season and are in the middle of a four-game home stand which will culminate with a 7:30 p.m. game against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Wednesday.

“We really need to go out there and get a win,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “That's the most important thing for us right now. We need to get some confidence going and string together victories. I feel like we've had some good moments the last couple of games but we have to put it all together.”

Angelo State is 2-1 in non-conference games inside the Junell Center and has outscored its opponents 76-66 points per game average. The Rams are averaging 66.4 points per game throughout the season and will look to snap a six-game losing streak on Saturday despite potentially being down to two reserves because of injuries.

“It's tough right now (in terms of depth) but we can't make excuses,” Rike said. “We have to play well and compete with the guys we have on the court. We'll try to slow down the game some because of our depth.”

Antonio Dye continues to lead the Rams in scoring with a 12.7 points per game average, while Jovan Austin leads ASU with 44 assists and is scoring just over 10 points a game in his freshman season. Dye and Austin has led the Rams in scoring four times each this season. Chris Talkington, who missed the Texas-Permian Basin game due to injury, is averaging 10.8 points and five rebounds a game.

Bryan Hammond scored a career-high 14 points on Tuesday and comes into Saturday's game with 30 assists and 7 points per game. Ryan Marsh also had a career-high 14 points against UTPB and is fourth on the team with 47 rebounds this season.

Northwood University, which plays out of the Red River Athletic Conference, is the third NAIA program the Rams have played this season (along with Lubbock Christian and Arlington Baptist). The Knights are currently on a five-game losing streak going into a game at the University of Southwest on Thursday. NU's win this season game in an 84-68 win over St. Gregory's on Dec. 8. Angelo State is the first of three Lone Star Conference opponent they will play this season with games against Cameron and Midwestern State scheduled for later this season.