Rams win two in a row back-to-back

The Rams have won back-to-back games this past week at home to improve their overall record to 9-11 with and to 2-8 in the Lone Star Conference.

The Rams beat the Abilene Christian Wildcats 65-59 on Saturday and the University of Texas-Permian Basin Falcons 72-60 on Tuesday.

"I'd give this one a 10 [rating] all the way," junior guard Keenen Coleman said after the ACU game. "We needed this one because we only had one win in the conference."

Coleman was one of four Rams to finish with more than 10 total points with 13 points and two assists over 34 minutes of game time against ACU.

The other guard, junior Javae King-Gilchrist, led the team in scoring with 16 points and 37 minutes played.

"I just played aggressively and I had defensive intensity," said Gilchrist.

The Rams were down five points at the end of the first half, making eight shots out of 27 attempts. They   came back and tied the game at 52-52 with four minutes and  14 seconds to play, winning the game by six while making 15 out of 26 in the second half.

"We shot 15 or 16 3-pointers in the first half and maybe four or five in the second half and that was the difference," Head Coach Rike said. "We started attacking the basket. We got the ball in the paint more."

In the second game against UTPB, the Rams and Falcons both missed several shots and had several turnovers to start it off as a low-scoring affair.

In the first 10 and half minutes, a combined 12 points was scored with seven by the Rams and five by the Falcons.

"I haven't seen this in a long time," said one official, referring to the low scoring.

The Rams had a good deal of success with 3-point shooting, hitting 9-20 while the Falcons went 1-19 and the one shot they made was with one minute, 35 seconds left in the second half when the Rams had a significant lead.

Keenen Coleman led the team in scoring again with 20 points from four free throws, two 3-pointers, and five other field goals.

"I'm glad we're at home," Rike said. It's great to have five of our last eight games on our home floor. We have a chance to make up some ground against teams that are on the road."

The Rams now only have Lone Star Conference games ahead of them with the UTPB game being the last of the nonconference games.

The players are aware and know what they need to do in order to win in the future.

"We need to work our game," junior forward Hanif Nixon-Hughes said. "Just doing what we need to do. Executing and rebounding, working our offense to a ‘T.' When we do that, I don't think nobody can beat us in the Lone Star Conference."

The team's coach also feels they need to do other things in order to win in the future.

Rike said they need to work on, "Half-court execution offensively, and defensively we got to hedge ball screens better."