SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Angelo State men's basketball team dropped their second straight Lone Star Conference game, 79-74, at the hands of Western New Mexico at Drag's Court in Silver City, N.M. late this evening.
 
The loss brings the Rams to 14-7 and 4-5 in the LSC on the season as the Mustangs improve to 10-7 and 3-4 in conference play.
 
Lathaniel Bastian led the way for the Rams with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding nine rebounds, three steals, and a block. Paul Williams added 17 points to go along with three assists on the evening.
 
The Rams started off hot, Kelyn Pennie hit two shots from beyond the arc, before Dante Moses made a three of his own, giving ASU a 9-4 lead.
 
The Rams struggled from the field, shooting 38.7 percent and 21.7 percent from three. ASU excelled on the offensive glass, grabbing 12 rebounds to WNMU's 5, and had 32 rebounds overall to Western's 30.
 
A floater by Williams brought the Rams ahead 25-19 with 8:28 remaining in the first half. As the teams continued to battle back and forth, WNMU went on an 8-2 run to close out the half, taking a 36-31 lead into the break.
 
Pennie added 13 points and Moses had 10 to round out the double-digit scorers for ASU. The Rams also had eight steals on the evening, keeping pace with their conference best stat.
 
Western came out firing in the second half, extending their lead to 14 points, 51-37, following a 13-0 run with 14:46 remaining in the contest.
 
The Mustangs shot 45.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three in the contest, shooting 80.5 percent from the free throw line.
 
A bucket by Miles Macadory and another triple from Pennie cut the lead to five, 61-56, with 6:09 to go. Four straight free throws by Williams and a bucket from Bastian cut the lead to just four with only 18 seconds remaining as the Rams comeback bid fell just short.
 
The Rams travel to St. Mary's in San Antonio for another LSC matchup on Monday, February 7^th, their first of three games in a busy week.