SAN ANGELO, Texas – Derrick Byrd collected 13 points and Will West posted 12 but it wasn't enough for the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team, as they were defeated 74-66 by the Angelo State Rams on Tuesday night inside Stephens Arena in San Angelo, Texas.

Brandon Williams was the biggest source of trouble for the Javelinas in this one. The senior forward compiled a stat line of 22 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Robert Stevenson finished up with a game-high 12 rebounds and TAMUK's bench provided 30 points while Angelo only received 18 from their non-starters.

FIRST HALF

Caelan Neal was the first player to make a mark on the scoresheet, draining a three and a Williams jumper got the Rams offense started. Good defense kept both offenses in check and the score read 7-5 with 14:49 to go in the half. A three by Daron Mims gave ASU its first lead of the night, but it was short-lived thanks to a jumper by Byrd.

After the Rams tied the score, a 12-3 Javelina run that included two treys from West and one from Christian Bambrook thrust the Javs in front, 21-12. Four straight points moved the Rams to within five before Byrd canned consecutive jump shots, returning TAMUK's lead to nine. That advantage reached 12 when Johnnathan Lindsey collected his first triple of the evening.  ASU scored seven of the next nine points to creep within six, but Cris Boleware blunted their momentum with two free throws and returned his team's lead to double figures seconds later by coming up with a steal and depositing it in the basket for two more. Six of the half's last seven points were scored by the Rams, however, including a buzzer-beating jump shot by Williams that brought the home team to within 34-30.

SECOND HALF

Williams continued adding to his total after halftime, converting a three-point play that brought the Rams to within one and, after a bucket by Bambrook, he tacked on two more. Bambrook and Williams went back-and-forth one more time with the score now reading 38-37 before Will Adler swished his first three of the night and Angelo State had two-point lead. West erased that advantage with a game-tying jumper and Bambrook restored TAMUK to the lead with another successful jump shot.

Byrd upped that lead to five by connecting from three-point range, but, after two pointers from each side, Adler fired up a trey that found the mark and the margin was back to two.

Nearly two minutes went by before anyone scored again and it was Jacolby Harris who broke the scoreless drought with a free throw. The next bucket was a Byrd layup, putting the score at 50-45 with 12:26 to play. Davion Cole-Johnson moved the Rams back to two points behind, canning his first triple and Antonio Singleton also hit from deep following a Caelan Neal basket and the home team was down by just one. They took the lead on a Ran Tut jumper and Williams added to it with two free throws.

Angelo State's lead was still at three points five minutes later with the score at 64-61 and 4:34 to play. Byrd tossed in another jumper that allowed the Javelinas to get within one point and the score stayed frozen for nearly two minutes after that. Williams blocked a Neal layup with less than two-and-a-half minutes to play and a subsequent trip to the foul line yielded one point for ASU. Williams pushed the Rams' lead to four with 1:39 remaining, the final two points of the night for the senior. The Rams ended the game on a 10-3 that allowed them to secure the win.

Coach Johnny Estelle and his student-athletes get more than a week to rest before they hit the road again for a contest against Midwestern State on Feb. 1st at 7:30 p.m. You can receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball by following @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and Instagram, liking the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.