Second-Half Surge Lifts Rams Past Kingsville, 83-76 - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content
Vladimir Cherry

Men's Basketball By Nick Eatman

Second-Half Surge Lifts Rams Past Kingsville, 83-76

Angelo State didn’t have the momentum entering halftime of Thursday’s quarterfinal game, but it didn’t take long for the Rams to get it back.
 
      ASU used a 23-8 run to open the second half to turn a rather close game and pull away from Texas A&M-Kingsville in the opening game of the LSC Championship at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The No. 3 seeded Rams claimed an 83-76 win over the Javelinas, the sixth-seed in this year’s field.
 
       The Rams (18-7) advance to Saturday’s semifinal round against the winner of Texas A&M Commerce and UT Permian Basin at 12 p.m.
 
      The win also helped ASU’s chances of earning a spot in the South Central Regional. The Rams entered the tourney ranked sixth in the rankings with the top eight teams earning a spot.
 
      The season ends for A&M-Kingsville at 12-15.
 
      After the Javelinas hit a running jumper as the halftime buzzer sounded to pull within 36-34 at the break, it appeared the second half would be more of the same back-and-forth affair. But ASU opened the half with eight straight points, including two baskets by Daron Mims, to take a 10-point lead. From there, ASU seized control and pushed the lead up to 17 halfway through the second half, where the Rams shot 50 percent from the field (11 of 22).
 
      After a brief scare by Kingsville, which used an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 66-61 with 5:31 to play, the Rams regrouped and went on a 9-2 run, which included seven points from Paul Williams, who led the Rams in scoring with a season-high 23 points.
 
      Daron Mims scored 17 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Rams. Ronald Bell came off the bench to grab 16 rebounds to go along with 11 points, while Klair Crouch had 15 points and six rebounds. The Rams played the second half without sixth-man James Kirksey, who scored six points off the bench before suffering an injury just before halftime.
 
      Texas A&M-Kingsville was led by Darius Mickens, who had 23 points, along with six assists and four steals.
     
Angelo State Notes:
  • The Rams improved to 23-28 all-time in LSC Championship play. The 23 victories rank fourth among all LSC schools.
  • The victory moves ASU one step closer to winning the program’s first LSC Championship in 30 years. ASU won the tournament for the second straight year in 1989, played in San Angelo. The Rams have not won an LSC title since the tournament moved to a neutral location in 2008.
  • Mims, an All-LSC honorable mention selection, went over double-digit scoring for the fifth straight game with 17 points.
  • Paul Williams has set or matched his season high in points in each of the last three games. After scoring a previous-best 13 points against MSU last week, he matched that effort with 13 at Cameron, before exploding for 23 on Thursday.
  • The Rams made 31 free throws on Thursday, the second-most of the season and the third time ASU converted over 30 in a game. All three 30-plus free throw games have occurred against Kingsville.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville Notes:
  • Texas A&M-Kingsville dropped to 21-32 in LSC Championship play. The Javelinas have not won the LSC Championship tournament since 1996.
  • Darius Mickens tied his season-high with four steals against Angelo State. Mickens also swiped four steals each against Tarleton State and MSU earlier this season.
  • Robert Stevenson, who was named to the LSC All-Defensive Team, recorded nine rebounds and four blocks.
  • Thursday’s game marked the fourth time Stevenson posted at least four blocks, which tied for the second-most this season.