ALLEN, Texas (Men's Basketball) – For the third time this year, and second time in five days, Angelo State did just enough to get by a gritty Texas A&M-Kingsville team that nearly pulled off a stunning comeback.
But the Rams were able to hang on for an 87-86 in the quarterfinal round of the LSC Championship at Allen Fieldhouse.
Leading by 16 with 3:43 to play, the Rams appeared to have a clear path to the semifinal round. But the Javelinas didn't go away quietly and rushed themselves back into the mix with a 19-6 run to cut the lead to two with just 4.8 seconds remaining.
But ASU's Quay King calmed sank two free throws for a four-point lead, making the final 3-pointer by Kingsville's
Marcus Frazier insignificant to the final outcome.
The Rams (21-5) advance to Friday's quarterfinal game against the winner of Tarleton State/Texas A&M-Commerce. The season ends for the Javelinas with an 11-14 record.
Last Saturday in Kingsville, ASU was able to hold on to the No. 2 seed in the tournament by beating the Javelinas 90-84. The Rams also edged TAMUK 74-71 back in late January.
And the third meeting looked to be just as close at the half, with both teams tied at 37.
In the second half, the Rams pushed a 46-44 lead into a 60-44 lead in just over four minutes.
ASU led by as much as 18 until the final surge by the Javelinas, who got 16 points each from
DJ Weathers and
Jamar Goodwin, who also had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Four Rams were in double figures, including 20 each from Tre Bennett and Prince Foster. King had 11 and Gustavs Puhovs added 10 off the bench.
The Rams were one of three teams to finish 9-5 in conference play, but won the tiebreaker over West Texas A&M and Tarleton State to claim the No. 2 seed. Angelo is seeking a return trip to the LSC Championship final, where they were upset by Texas A&M-Commerce as the No. 1 seed.
Angelo State Notes• Wednesday's win moves Angelo State to 19-25 in the Lone Star Conference Tournament
• First Lone Star Tournament victory for Head Coach Chico Boone
• Angelo State is now 8-1 against Texas A&M-Kingsville when facing each other in the league's postseason tournament
• Angelo State's win moves them 4-2 inside the Allen Event Center.
• Broke a 43-43 tie with the Javelinas in the second half with a 22-4 run
• Prince Foster scored season high 20 points in the win
• The 87 points is the most by Angelo State since scoring 104 in the 2001 LSC Tournament Semifinal against Midwestern State
• Tre Bennett had his 23rd double-digit game this season with 20 points in the victory
Texas A&M-Kingsville Notes•
Troy Jones had a double-double at halftime with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Jones finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.
•
Troy Jones set a career high with 14 rebounds. It's the eighth double-digit rebound game of the season for Jones and the 10th of his career.
• TAMUK has now lost six straight Lone Star Conference tournament games. Their last win came in 2009 against Texas A&M-Commerce
• TAMUK falls to 0-5 at the Allen Event Center.
• It is TAMUK's 32 LSC tournament appearance, second most all time (Texas A&M-Commerce, 37).
• TAMUK is 19-30 all time in the LSC tournament.
• TAMUK trailed 46-44 and then was outscored 14-2 over the next four minutes in the second half.
• TAMUK had four players score in double figures with
DJ Weathers and
Jamar Goodwin leading the Javelinas with 16 points apiece, while
Troy Jones added 13 points and
Marcus Frazier with 12 points.
• TAMUK made 12 3-pointers. It's the fifth time the Javelinas have made double-digit 3s and the second straight game they have done so.
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