SAN ANGELO, Texas – Jermane Carter's 3-point attempt at the top of the key was swatted away with three seconds remaining allowing Angelo State to come away with a 75-73 win Thursday night at Junell Center.
"That was a fantastic college basketball game," MSU coach
Justin Leslie said. "When you go on the road against a team like this, your margin of error is slim."
Midwestern State continued to find its identity on the defensive end of the floor. The Mustangs played one of their best halves of the season limiting Angelo State to 25.8 percent shooting while constructing a 15-point edge just before halftime.
"They were settling for difficult shots because we were corralling them into tough situations," Leslie said. "We've been working the concept of working over and through. We came down at the end of possessions and fouled them and it bit us (in the second half)."
MSU played within the margin for error in the opening half committing just a single turnover, but that unraveled after intermission. The Mustangs turned the ball over 12 times, while the Rams became even more determined to get to the rim – and to the charity stripe.
"In the second half, those two guards put their head down and didn't stop until they were at the rim," Leslie said.
Junior guard Dante Moses led a quartet of Rams in double figures with 17 points followed by Tyrell Carroll (15 points), Devaughn Thomas (12 points) and Paul Williams (10 points).
The group of four combined to shooting 20 of the Rams' 25 free throws for the game as ASU hit 19-of-24 as a team to rally for the victory.
Senior forward
Jermane Carter delivered his fifth 20-point effort of the season finishing the game with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds, but the Mustangs also received support off of the bench.
Freshman
Amaechi Chukwu and senior
John Weger delivered career highs, while
Pierre Sanders added seven points, five assists and four rebounds.
"They were fantastic for us off of the bench tonight. Both ends of the floor. I was really proud of their effort," Leslie said. "Just their ability to go out there and really lay it on the line. It was a big ask and they really came through tonight."
Chukwu fought through contact to score 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
"He's a freshman. One of the things freshman deal with is finding their level of comfort," Leslie said. "He was to go out and be aggressive and find where he fits. He thrives on contact."
Weger netted nine points in 31 minutes on the floor with a team-best, plus/minus of +10.
"John cares deeply about doing the best for the team and has been struggling with his shot since coming back from the break," Leslie said. "It was good to see him have the pep in his step again tonight."
Midwestern State takes on UT Permian Basin Saturday afternoon at the Falcon Dome in Odessa. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
