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SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State men's basketball team returns to action and Lone Star Conference play at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday against Texas A&M-Kingsville at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.

The Rams (4-10) are coming off their best offensive game of the season with a 102-77 win over Northwood University on Wednesday in their final non-conference game of the season. ASU is now 4-3 at home this season after making 12 3-pointers in the victory over the Knights.

“It was a good win and our guys were excited,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said.

"It was a big-time win to get that weight off our chest," ASU junior Ryan Marsh added. "Once you start losing games in a row, it just gets harder and harder. It felt pretty nice."

With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Rams know that now is the time to turn Saturday's win into a string of victory. The first opportunity comes against the Javelinas (8-5, 4-2 LSC) who are scoring 65.1 points per game this season and have conference wins over Cameron, Texas A&M-Commerce, Eastern New Mexico and are coming off a 64-61 overtime win over West Texas A&M on Saturday.

“They do a good job in their ball-screen offense,” Rike said. “They spread the floor out and are good at driving the ball. We have to keep them out of the paint. The question for the Rams is if we are going to rebound. We have to rebound.”

Antonio Dye and Jovan Austin continue to lead the scoring category for the Rams with 12.7 and 12.6 points per game, respectively, while Chris Talkington is adding 11.3 and Dakota Rawls another 10.9 points per game. Rawls and Bryan Hammond (an 8.1 points per game scorer) are both coming off 22-point efforts against Northwood.

Rawls is leading the team with 5.5 rebounds a game with Talkington adding 5.3, while Austin has 49 assists and 23 steals to pace the Rams. ASU continues to be a strong protector of the basketball  by creating 58 more turnovers than opponents this season, but the team has been out-rounded 540-457 through the first 14 games of the season. The struggle for the Rams has come on the defensive side of the court with opponents grabbing 388 defensive rebounds compared to them pulling down 299.

ASU, which is 33 percent on 3-pointers and 68 percent from the free-throw line throughout this season, has improved its shooting the past couple of games and found its touch on 3-pointers on Saturday by knocking down 12 shots from beyond the arc.

“If we can get our guards in the paint and pitch it out to them that is one of our strengths,” Rike said. “We have to move the basketball to get good shots. We are definitely capable of doing that.”

Rashad Basey leads the Javelinas by scoring 15.2 points per game this season, while Jamahl Brown is adding 9.3 and Adonis Bailey is at 8.3. A&M-Kingsville leads its opponents 468-459 in rebounding this season and are 1-2 on the road this season. Basey leads the team with 47 rebounds and 51 assists with Brown adding 42 rebounds and a team-leading 13 3-pointers.  

Texas A&M-Kingsville, which is shooting 44 percent from the floor and 33 percent on 3-pointers this season, leads the all-time series 48-46 against the Rams after winning both meetings last season. The Rams then travels to play at 4 p.m. on Saturday against Incarnate Word in their first road game in almost three weeks.