WICHITA FALLS, Texas – After holding double-digit leads for most of the game, Angelo State survived a furious rally by Arkansas Fort-Smith, thanks to a barrage of late 3-pointers, to advance past the Lions in the opening round of the South Central Regional.

Leading by 20 late in the first half, No. 3 seeded ASU saw its lead trimmed to one in the final three minutes before hitting clutch baskets and free throws down the stretch to win 92-85 in the first of four regional games Saturday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Stedman Allen led four Rams in double figures with 26 points, sparked by 10 of 15 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Tre Bennett had 20 points and seven assists, including a long 3-pointer with 2:10 to play to give ASU a five-point lead and the momentum back in its favor. Thomas Tshikaya had 14 off the bench, while Quay King had 11 points, including several run-stopping baskets to keep the Lions at bay.

ASU improves to 24-6 and will play the winner of Fort Lewis/Dallas Baptist in Sunday's second-round matchup with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. Last season, the Rams won two games in the South Central Regional in Stephenville before falling a game short of the Elite Eight.

The season ends with a 23-9 record for the Lions, who also had five players in double figures. Leading the way was Seth Youngblood, who missed his first five 3-pointers before getting hot down the stretch. He nailed four straight from beyond the arc in a span of three minutes. His final trey cut the lead to 85-83 with 1:45 remaining.

But Omari Gudul's three-point play pushed the lead to five for the Rams. However, the Lions cut the lead back to three and then had a shot to tie the game with 26 seconds to play, but Teris Bourgeois missed his 3-point attempt. The Rams then put the game away with two free throws each by Allen and Bennett, pushing the final outcome to seven.

Along with Youngblood, the Lions were paced by 12 points from Bourgeois, 11 by Darius Parker and 10 each from Alex Cooper and DaVaunta Thomas.
The Rams dominated the glass with a 40-25 advantage, led by a game-high nine boards from Prince Foster.

In the first half, ASU exploded to a 10-2 lead stretched it to 28-11 on Gustava Puhovs' 3-pointers with 12:04 to play. Just before the half, Fort Smith got down by 20-point after Bennett drilled a 3-pointer. But in less than 10 seconds, the Lions hit one free throw, followed by a steal and a running 3-pointer by Bourgeiois before the buzzer, cutting Angelo's lead to 53-37.

UAFS scored the first seven points of the second half, cutting the lead to nine, before King hit a 3-pointer for the Rams, extending the lead back to 12. From there, the Lions managed to chip away, but never pulled even.
  
-- MSUMustangs.com --