By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (January 4, 2016) — There is no team Tarleton State has opposed the last two seasons more than Angelo State.
The Lone Star Conference rivals faced off seven times the last two years including Tarleton victories in each of the last two South Central Region finals.
The Texans have written their own ‘elite’ finishes the last two seasons, finishing in the national semifinals and quarterfinals, all the while keeping ASU from taking the next step in its ascent of recent seasons.
Fitting that it’s an all top-10 matchup as the LSC titans prepare to show down. No. 5 ASU (10-0, 1-0) welcomes No. 9 Tarleton (12-1, 4-0) to Stephens Arena in San Angelo at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, following a 5:30 p.m. women’s contest.
Even without their recent history – Tarleton won four of the seven meetings the last two seasons and five of them were determined by single digits including 68-66 and 77-72 in the regional finals – the individual match-ups would be more than enough to make this one intriguing.
Each team has a bona fide shooting guard leading the scoring with Quay King pouring in 20.2 per game for the undefeated Rams and Ridell Camidge scoring 16.2 for the Texans, including an average of 17 over their current nine game win streak. Camidge shoots 40.2 percent from the arc and 43.2 percent overall and is a blistering 92.5 percent from the foul stripe. King compares well at 42.1 percent from the field, 38.6 from the arc and 83.7 at the line.
Deshawn Riddick and Lorenzo Dillard are also a compelling match with Dillard collecting 14.9 points and 5.3 assists and Riddick scoring 11 and distributing 4.7 assists while committing just 1.6 turnovers in almost 31 minutes per game at point guard.
Chantz Chambers scores 10.7 points, grabs 3.0 boards and deals 2.5 assists while hitting 44.2 percent from 3, while Devonte Pratt answers for ASU with 8.2 points and 3.5 assists and 50 percent from the arc on a limited 9-18.
Big man Romond Jenkins has presented the riddle no Tarleton opponent has been able to match this season. The 6-7 senior center averages 12.8 points and 11.8 rebounds with a national leading 140 total boards. He is third in the nation in shooting at 70.5 percent.
But ASU may be the team in the LSC with a match-up for Jenkins, as Thomas Tshikaya basically averages a double-double himself at 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds. Jenkins and Tshikaya also block 1.7 and 1.5 shots per game, respectively, but no player in the league blocks them with the frequency of ASU center Justin Hollins, who in only 15.6 minutes per game averages 2.3 blocks.
Anthony Davis – 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds – and Josh Hawley – 8.9 and 4.4 – are a pair of redshirt freshmen who split time at power forward for the Texans, both with the ability to stretch defenses to the arc.
Tarleton may have an edge in depth with ASU’s Prince Foster – 13.0 points and 4.5 boards – and Gustavs Puhovs – 7.1 points – having missed recent games following injuries suffered in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas.
But Tarleton has also dealt with injuries. Important offensive threat Denzel Smith was averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 boards in just 13.5 minutes before going down in December, and that was after backup point guard Stephen Edwards was injured. That opened the door for redshirt freshman Kealon Clayborne, who is fresh off his first double-digit scoring performance with 11 points in a 87-68 New Year’s Eve victory over Ouachita Baptist in Stephenville.
ASU has played twice since the break, including an important 81-77 LSC road win over Cameron last Saturday. Cameron is one of three common opponents between the Texans and Rams. Tarleton beat CU, 73-60, and Midwestern, 64-56, in Stephenville, while ASU also traveled to Midwestern, winning 75-72. The Texans and the Rams each stomped Simon Fraser (BC) in Vegas, Tarleton 88-63 and ASU 83-58.
ASU has won the last two times the teams met in San Angelo, including a double-overtime barnburner last year. The Rams overcame a double-digit second-half deficit and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the first overtime before knocking off Tarleton 87-86 in the second overtime period on February 10 last year. The Rams were in control throughout a 78-60 win over the Texans on January 7, 2015.
Thursday marks the 47th meeting between the teams, with Tarleton leading the series 34-12. The 48th meeting on February 11 will be broadcast nationally by ESPN3 from Wisdom Gym, Tarleton’s final home game of the regular season.
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