Game Book (PDF)

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 11 Angelo State put together a 24-10 run over a 10-minute span in the second half to erase a nine-point deficit and remain undefeated on the season as the Rams handed Midwestern State its third-straight defeat in a 75-72 win Thursday evening at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
Angelo State (6-0, 1-0 LSC) led for all 20 minutes of the opening period after beginning the game on an 11-2 run thanks to six points from Quay King. The Rams claimed as much as a 14-point lead in the first half before Midwestern State (6-4, 0-3 LSC) went on a 7-0 spurt in the final 3:08 to trim its deficit to 36-32 at the half.
 
The Mustangs took their first lead of the game with 17:31 remaining in the contest following a layup by Devante Pullum to give MSU a 40-39 advantage. Midwestern extended its lead to as many as nine with Igor Ibaka scoring seven-straight points for the Maroon and Gold before a Brandon Neel layup put the Mustangs ahead 49-40 with 15:02 to play.
 
Following a layup for Nemanja Krtolica that gave Midwestern a 58-49 advantage, the Rams pulled within one after a Gustavs Puhovs three-pointer and a pair of baskets from King. The Mustangs denied Angelo State from pulling ahead with Pat Smith connecting on a triple and Neel adding a layup to stretch the lead back out to six with 6:27 remaining.
 
Puhovs and King continued to lead the ASU offense, scoring the next seven points for the Rams with a Puhovs jumper with 4:59 to play giving Angelo its first lead in over 12 minutes of action at 65-64. 
 
The Rams grabbed a five-point lead with two minutes remaining following a layup for Lorenzo Dillard and a King triple. A jumper for Nick Powell with two seconds left brought the Mustangs within a possession before an Angelo State turnover gave MSU a chance for a desperation three with just 0.4 ticks left. However, MSU's last-second attempt was off the mark with the Rams escaping with the win.  

NOTES
- Midwestern State fell to 0-3 in conference play for the first time since the 2007-08 season when the Mustangs dropped their first three games in league action before snapping their skid with a win over No. 14 Abilene Christian
- Igor Ibaka led the Mustangs in scoring for the first time this season with 16 points while adding 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season
- Brandon Neel notched double digits for the fourth-straight game with 14 points
- Nick Powell matched a career-best 11 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor
- The Mustangs forced an opponent to 20 or more turnovers for the sixth time this season with Angelo State committing 21 miscues
- Quay King scored a game-high 26 points on 6-of-12 shooting from behind the arc to lead the Rams while Lorenzo Dillard added 17 points and Thomas Tshikaya recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds for the double-double
- Angelo State shot 42.6 percent from the field while Midwestern State finished with a 40.9 percentage

STAT OF THE GAME
16 – Igor Ibaka scored a season-high 16 points for the third time this season with his eighth double-figure scoring outing, also totaling 16 points against Arkansas-Fort Smith (Nov. 11) and Our Lady of the Lake (Nov. 18)

UP NEXT 
Midwestern State takes a break from LSC action Friday, Dec. 16 when the Mustangs play host to St. Gregory's (Okla.) in a 7 p.m. tipoff at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.