ASU Senior Duo Holds Off Cameron - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content
Patrick Green

Men's Basketball By Nick Eatman

ASU Senior Duo Holds Off Cameron

Angelo State senior forward Kenny Williams was as advertised in his LSC Championship debut game Thursday against Cameron. His 21 points were crucial but ASU likely doesn’t advance to the semifinal round without an equally-strong effort from guard Bryan Hammond.

        The Rams held off a pesky Cameron squad that waited too long to get into an offensive flow and couldn’t overcome an ice-cold shooting start. Angelo held on for the 64-59 win and will play in Friday’s semifinal game with No. 2 seeded Midwestern State. The Rams were one of two teams to knock off the LSC co-champion Mustangs this year.

        But without the play of Hammond, the Rams might be heading back to San Angelo instead. Hammond scored 22 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out six assists. He also had two steals in playing all but three minutes.

        Williams was rather strong early on for the Rams, scoring 13 first-half points, just two less than Cameron, who managed only 15 at the half. The Aggies got a cold shooting night from senior guard Craig Foster, a second-team All-LSC player who was the league’s Player of the Year in 2013. But he had a night to forget, hitting only 3 of 15 shots and 0-9 from 3-point land. Foster finished with seven points, although he grabbed nine rebounds and had six assists, playing 39 of 40 minutes.

        Desmond Henry led Cameron with 15 points, while Tank Mayberry added 11 and six rebounds. 

        Both teams got off to a slow start, with Angelo State scoring its first points of the game when Hammond hit a 3-pointer with 13:30 to play in the first half. But that made the game 4-3 as Cameron wasn’t doing much better. In fact, the Aggies were stuck at four points for six minutes.

        In the second half, the Rams pushed the lead to 15 at 36-21 early in the second half. But twice the Aggies got it back to 2, including with 3:54 to play on Will Cook’s layup to close the gap to 51-49. But that’s as close as the Aggies would get. ASU forward Chris Talkington hit a 3-pointer on the next possession. After Cameron followed with a Henry layup, Talkington took a great pass from Hammond for another layup and a five-point lead. The Rams finished off the game with free throws to preserve the win.

        The season ends for No. 6 seeded Cameron, who finishes 11-15. The victory Thursday marked the sixth straight game the top seeds have won here in the LSC Championship.

 
Angelo State Notes
  • This is the first LSC Tournament for the Rams since 2010 and 27th overall.
  • The win is the first LSC win for ASU since a 104-90 win over Midwestern State in the 2001 semifinals.
  • The win is the first postseason win for head coach Chris Beard, who is in his first season coaching the Rams.
  • It is the first time the Rams have ever recorded three wins in a single season over the Aggies.
  • ASU held Cameron to just 15 first-half points, the lowest first-half point total for a Ram opponent this season. The 15.4 percent field-goal percentage (4 of 26) by the Aggies is also the lowest by a Ram opponent in the first half of a game this year.
  • ASU had eight assists on nine made baskets in the first half, led by four from Bryan Hammond.
  • The win gives the Rams 19 wins on the season, with one more victory giving them their first 20-win season since 2008-09.
  • Kenny Williams’ 21 points was his most points since scoring 22 vs Eastern New Mexico on Feb. 8 (seven games), and his 11th 20-point game of the season.
  • Bryan Hammond’s 22 points tied a season high. He now has at least 20 points in five of his last nine games, averaging 17.0 ppg in that nine-game span.
 
 
Cameron Notes
  • Third straight appearance in the LSC tournament, fifth since 2009 and 10th overall.
  • Foster, Cook, Thompson, McGary and Patino all in starting lineup together for only second time this season.
  • Will Cook stopped the game’s scoring drought with the first point of the contest with a free throw at 17:33 in the first half. Tank Mayberry scored the game’s first bucket from the field at 15:23.
  • Aggies’ defense held the Rams scoreless for the first six and a half minutes, with two steals, a block while forcing four turnovers on 0-6 shooting.
  • Cameron’s lowest-scoring first half of the season with 15 points and lowest first-half shooting percentage with 15% (4-26).
  • Aggies’ bench had 11 of the team’s 15 points at the break and 35 of the team’s 59 points at the final.
  • Craig Foster led the game in rebounds at the half with 8 while being the only Cameron player under 6 feet. He finished with 9 on the afternoon.
  • Craig Foster grabbed six assists in today’s game, finishing his career with 350 total helpers, good for second all-time in school history.
  • After being held scoreless without a shot in the opening frame, Desmond Henry tallied 15 points in the final 20 minutes to lead Cameron.
  • Totaled six blocks as a team making it the first time the Aggies have had five or more blocks in a game since 2/1/13.
  • Went 1-18 from beyond the arc making it the first time this season the Aggies have not made at least two 3-pointers in a game. Their lone triple tonight came with 13.3 seconds left in the game.
  • Aggies more than tripled their point-total from the first half by the game’s conclusion.