King lifts Rams to upset win over Tarleton in OT - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content
Vladimir Cherry

Men's Basketball By Nick Eatman

King lifts Rams to upset win over Tarleton in OT

Despite losing two games to Tarleton State in the regular season by a combined 41 points, Angelo State proved once again how different things can be in March.
      The No. 7 seeded Rams outlasted the Texans 85-82 in overtime, sending the No. 2 seed home from the LSC Championship in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
      A 35-foot attempt by TSU’s Chantz Chambers rimmed out at the buzzer, preventing a second overtime. Tarleton trailed by as much as 12 in the second half, but gritted its way into overtime, thanks to clutch baskets and a defensive stand at the end of regulation.
      But despite the Texans having all the momentum, Angelo State regrouped in overtime and pushed the lead out to five after a 3-pointer by Shaquan Rhoades - his only basket of the game – and then a steal and alley-oop from Rhoades to Brandon Williams, giving ASU an 82-77 lead with 2:37 to play.
      The Texans rallied again and Chambers tied the game with a 3-pointer with 1:07 left. But Quay King, who seemed to have the answer all game for the Rams when Tarleton kept chipping away, did it again with a driving layup to give ASU the lead for good. King hit another free throw and the Rams were able to hold off Tarleton on the final two possessions.
      King led all scorers with 26 points, while playing 43 minutes. Teammates Devonte Pratt and Williams each scored 16 while Prince Foster had 11 points and 12 rebounds with eight assists and three steals before fouling out.
      The Rams (16-11) keep their season alive with the win, advancing them to Saturday’s semifinal round against the winner of the West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Kingsville game.
      The Texans, who have now lost four straight games to drop to 22-7, will get ready for next week’s South Central Regional tournament. TSU was ranked fourth and will most certainly remain in the final eight.
      As for the Rams, their only chance to advance is to win two more games to claim the LSC Championship and receive the automatic bid.
      Back in January, making the regional seemed rather likely, especially after ASU stormed out to a 10-0 record. But a humbling 32-point home loss to Tarleton seemed to start the Rams’ downfall. ASU eventually lost 10 more games and needed to win last Saturday’s regular-season finale at Western New Mexico just to advance to the field.
      But against the Texans on Thursday, ASU was outrebounded 57-42, but forced 20 turnovers.
      Tarleton’s Romond Jenkins had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Chambers scored 18, with 10 points each from Nosa Ebomwonyi and Anthony Davis, who also had 13 rebounds.
 

 











Angelo State Notes
  • Angelo State advances to the semifinals and improves to 16-11 on the 2016-17 season.
  • The Rams are now 21-26 all-time in the LSC Tournament have won its last five quarterfinal contests.
  • Devonte’ Pratt (11.3 ppg) led Angelo State to a 35-30 halftime lead behind 16 points on 6-6 from the free throw line.
  • ASU leading scorer Quay King scored seven points in the first three minutes of the second half on his way to a game-high 26 points, shooting 8-14 in the second half. It was his fourth game this season with at least 26 points.
  • ASU Held Tarleton State without a field goal from 16:11 to 10:12 in the second half.
  • Shaquan Rhoades first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer with 3:06 remaining in overtime, put the Rams ahead 80-77.
  • Averaging over 18 turnovers this season, turned the ball over just 12 times while forcing 20 TSU turnovers.
  • Prince Foster recorded his third double-double of the season with 11 points, 12 rebounds along with eight assists.
  • Angelo State assisted on 67% of its shots (20 out of 30)
  • Brandon Williams led the Rams with six points in overtime.
 
Tarleton State Notes
  • Romond Jenkins finished the first half with 12 points and nine rebounds.
  • Jenkins ended the game with 23 points and 13 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season.The 20-plus points marked the fifth time the forward reached the 20-point plateau this season.
  • Anthony Davis posted his first double-double of the year with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
  • TSU trailed by as much as 12 with 2:42 left in the first half but ended the half down five.
  • Tarleton State tied the quarterfinals matchup at 71 with 1:50 remaining in regulation.
  • The Texans took the lead for the first time since the 12:49 mark in the opening half with 4:15 left to play in OT.
  • TSU fell to 28-16 all-time in the LSC Tournament
  • The Texans lost in the first round of the tournament for the first time since 2009.