LAWTON – For the second straight game, the Cameron men battled a tough Lone Star Conference team to the final minutes, losing 89-83 to Angelo State on Saturday.
The men's basketball team is still searching for the first conference win of the season after Thursday's overtime loss to UT Permian Basin and now Saturday's loss to the Rams, a game in which they led with just over two minutes to play.
Cameron matched ASU, who entered the game with 12 wins this season, in just about phase of the game. The Aggies shot 42 percent from the field, 38 percent from three, and 82 percent from the charity stripe. The Rams shot 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from long range, and 78 percent from the charity stripe. CU outrebounded their opponent 42-36, but the Black and Gold turned the ball over one more time than the visiting Rams.
Four players scored in double figures for CU, led by
Connor Slater's 20 points on 14 shots, including two big three-pointers.
Brock Schreiner and
Colt Savage each had 15 points and
Marques Warrior Jr. was just two assists shy of a double-double with 12 points and eight helpers.
Joshua Fanuiel led the Aggies with eight rebounds to go along with nine points.
The big difference in the game was ASU's ability to hit the long-range shot. They used multiple threes to build up a nine-point lead early in the opening half. The scrappy CU squad chipped away at that advantage and a steal from
Deondre Earley, one of three for the first-year guard, and a made layup on the break cut the lead to 22-20 with 9:24 left in the first. ASU jumped back out by 10 with 6:11 on the clock, with Cameron coming back to get within three, 42-39 at the break after a pair of free throws by big-man
Kenyon Holcombe.
After going back and forth to start the second half, the Rams went on a run to build their lead up to 11 with 16:58 to play. Slater with the help of Warrior helped CU charge back and an and-one play by Schreiner with 11:16 on the clock tied the game at 61. There were four tie scores in the next five minutes of play with both teams matching each other's energy.
After a trio of free throws by ASU's Tyrell Carrell gave his team a two-point advantage with 2:39 left in the game. Slater then hit a bit three off the assist from Warrior to give the Aggies the one-point advantage. Angelo State answered with a three from Dante Moses and then an and-one play by Lathaniel Bastian to take a five-point lead. Carrol and Moses made a trio of free throws in the final seconds while CU was only able to get a bucket from Schreiner as the Rams claimed the 89-83 win.
Despite the tough effort, CU falls to 2-9 on the season and 0-5 in league play. They look to turn things around next week on the road when they visit DBU on Thursday, Jan. 27, and then Midwestern State on Saturday, Jan. 29; Cameron lost to the rival Mustangs in a non-conference meeting in the Aggie Gym back in November.
