SAN ANGELO, Texas - Steven Moore's free throw with 1.4 seconds to play in overtime was enough charity to lift Angelo State to an 82-81 win over Midwestern State Wednesday night at Junell Center/Stephens Arena.
Moore arrived at the free throw line after he dribbled the length of the floor in the final 10 seconds of overtime, but ran over MSU's
Darrick Thomas without a call before he scrambled for the rebound and was fouled by Scooby Van Buren to earn a trip to the line.
"That's not a call they are going to make at the end of the game," MSU coach
Grant McCasland said. "It's probably a charge, but we had Scoob (Van Buren) and Keonte (Logan) there to scramble for the ball. (Moore) got it and Scoob raked his arm for the foul."
Moore, a senior transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock, made the first of two shots of the double bonus to secure the win for the Rams who improved to 5-8 on the season and 1-0 in South Division play.
The no-call soiled a gutsy comeback in the game's final 2:11 as the Mustangs erased an 8-point deficit with Angelo State building an 80-72 lead on a Moore free throw.
Chris Hagan, who finished with a game-high 32 points and seven assists, hit 3-of-4 free throws, found an open Van Buren for a 3-pointer then canned a 25-footer from the top of the key to lock the game at 81-81 with 10 seconds to play.
The Mustangs constructed an 11-point lead on the strength of an 11-2 run as
Michael Loyd hit a pair of 3-pointers including a four-point play to put MSU up 41-30 with 2:20 to play. The Mustangs would lead 41-34 at the break.
Midwestern maintained a 10-point advantage six minutes into the second half before foul trouble finally began to take effect.
"I don't feel our energy level was high enough defensively and they were able to get to the free throw line," McCasland said. "But you have to give them credit. They are very talented and found a way to win tonight. We didn't."
Led by a stellar 32-point, 16-rebound performance by senior forward Ridge McKeither, the Rams found their way to the line 52 times courtesy of 32 Midwestern fouls. Angelo converted 36 charity tosses and used the momentum to gain the lead at 59-58 on Richard Thomas' 3-pointer from the corner with 9:15 to play.
Angelo State led by as many as four points in regulation before Micheal Loyd hit a running trey with 7.9 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 68-68.
Loyd finished the game with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists while
David Terrell scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds.
Thomas also added a double-double for Angelo State finishing with 21 points and 10 boards.
Midwestern State dropped its second straight game to fall to 12-3 and 0-1. The Mustangs play host to Abilene Christian Saturday night at D.L.Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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