SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State University Athletic Department today announced the hiring of Vinay Patel to lead the ASU Rams men’s basketball program as its new head coach.

Patel brings 17 years of coaching experience to ASU, most recently serving as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he led the Rangers to a 20-9 overall record and one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division II last season.

“We are so excited to have Coach Patel join Angelo State as the next head men’s basketball coach, said ASU Director of Athletics James Reid. “Vinay brings a wealth of experience and success to the university and program, including time spent in the Lone Star Conference. Coach Patel’s background and commitment to excellence make him a great fit for our Athletic Department and university. We are excited to welcome him and his family into the Ram Fam!”

Prior to NWOSU, Patel spent four seasons at Oklahoma City University and compiled an overall record of 82-42. He led the Stars to a Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament championship in 2018-19 and a share of the regular-season championship in 2017-18. The Stars advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Tournament two years in a row while making the tournament all four years.

Patel was named the Sooner Athletic Conference and Oklahoma Sports Net Coach of the Year in 2018 when the Stars finished with a 24-9 mark and ranked No. 8 in the NAIA.

“I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to be the next head coach at Angelo State University,” Patel said. “I would like to thank President Ronnie Hawkins and Athletic Director James Reid for allowing me to lead such a storied basketball program. This is a dream come true for me! My family and I are excited to be a part of the community of San Angelo and the Ram Family!” Emphasizing success both on the court and in the classroom, Patel’s squads at NWOSU and OCU both recorded the highest team GPA in program history. He also coached four NAIA All-Americans and the SAC Player of the Year at OCU while eight former players have gone on to sign professional contracts.

No stranger to the Lone Star Conference, Patel started his coaching career at West Texas A&M University as a graduate assistant in 2005 before working his way up to associate head coach in 2013. In eight seasons on staff, Patel helped lead the Buffs to a 164-93 record and five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.

“I would also like to thank everyone at Northwestern Oklahoma State for the past three years,” Patel added. “I was fortunate to work with a special group of people daily, and they are the reason for this incredible opportunity. I am excited to be back in the Lone Star Conference and am ready to get to work!”

A native of Shamrock, Texas, Patel received his Master of Science degree in sports and exercise science from WTAMU in 2007, and he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports science from Texas Tech University.

An introductory press conference will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 2, in the VIP Room of the ASU Junell Center to welcome Coach Patel and his family

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland Baptist earned the No. 1 seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament.

The Flying Queens, ranked 10th in the NAIA, snared a first-round bye. The top four seeds gained byes – Mid-America Christian, Texas Wesleyan and Science & Arts will be idle as well when the first round starts Tuesday.

All 12 conference teams made the SAC Tournament. Langston, John Brown, Oklahoma City and Southwestern Christian will host tournament games Tuesday. The winners advance to the quarterfinals Thursday.

The SAC Tournament semifinals take place Monday, Feb. 28 at Mid-America Christian’s Gaulke Activity Center. The title bout will be 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 1 at the Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City.

Wayland Baptist snagged its third consecutive SAC Tournament crown 71-63 over Langston on March 1, 2021 in Plainview, Texas. Kaylee Edgemon collected tournament most valuable player, scoring 26 points in the title game.

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DALLAS – Parrish Hewitt began his career as a Pioneer by scoring a game-high 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds to lead Wayland Baptist to a 66-52 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over North Texas-Dallas here Thursday.

Wayland opened a 37-23 halftime lead then cruised in the second half as the Pioneers (8-9, 4-6 SAC) picked up a much-needed win over the Trailblazers (7-10, 3-7), snapping a four-game slide that include a pair of forfeit losses.

“I’m proud of how our guys have handled the adversity we’ve been through the last two weeks with COVID. We were locked in and had one of our best defensive efforts of the year,” Wayland coach Clint Galyean said.

Hewitt, a senior guard from Memphis, Tenn., who transferred from Northwestern Oklahoma State, spurred the Pioneers, who also got nine points from Thad Udoh and eight from Javorian Miller. Jaxon Recer pulled down nine boards and Jibrael Washington recorded half of WBU’s season-best 10 blocks.

The Trailblazers, in their second season and first in the SAC, were led by Vernon Johnson’s 12 points.

Wayland held a 44-35 edge on the boards and hit 16-of-22 free throws.

The 52 points by the Trailblazers represented the third-lowest output by an opponent this season, behind only 37 by Dallas Christian and 39 by Calvary Bible.

Both the Pioneers and Trailblazers struggled from the 3-point line, combining to go 0-for-11 in the second half. Wayland hit 4-of-9 from long range in the first half, the makes coming from four different players.

Next for the Pioneers is a match against 12^th-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University at 4 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie. The league-leading Lions (12-3, 9-1) defeated Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday, 86-68.

“Saturday is our biggest challenge of the year so far going to SAGU,” Galyean said. “We need to get some things cleaned up on the offensive side and play with the same intensity defensively.”

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SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State women’s basketball team, returning to action after a two-week layoff due to game postponements, dominated Midwestern State, 98-72, to pick up their first conference win of the season.

The win marks the Rambelles’ first home conference win since February 20, 2020, against Texas A&M-Kingsville; it is also the first conference win for head coach Alesha Ellis.

The 98 points for the Rambelles is the most points scored in a game since December 21, 2019, when the Rambelles put 99 points past Cameron on that day. The 98 points is also tied for the fourth-most points scored by an LSC team this season.

The Rambelles dominated in all facets of the game: they shot a season-high 54.2 percent from the field, including shooting 57.9 percent in the second quarter and 75 percent in the fourth quarter. They made 39 field goals on the night, the most any LSC school has made in a single game this season and assisted 28 times in this game, also a conference-best this season.

The Rambelles also out-rebounded the Mustangs 41-28, the fewest the Rambelles have allowed in a game this season; the Rambelles forced the Mustangs into 25 turnovers, recording a season-high 19 steals in the process.

The largest lead for the Mustangs was seven points with under a minute left in the first quarter; the Rambelles would then go on a 20-4 run until the 4:13 mark in the second quarter to secure a nine-point lead, a lead that they kept building on for the rest of the game.

Seven Rambelles scored in double-digits on the evening, led by Blakely Gerber’s 17 points. The Wayland Baptist transfer was perfect from two-point range in seven attempts, also adding in five assists and three steals.

Sawyer Lloyd and Madeline Stephens both scored 16 points, with Stephens recording her second double-double on the season, grabbing 11 rebounds. Lloyd assisted a game-high eight times, also recording six steals and four rebounds.

Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant shot 7-8 from the field, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

Payton Brown, Ashlynn Sharp, and Samantha Rocha scored ten points apiece; Brown assisted seven times while Sharp recorded four steals and Rocha grabbed seven rebounds.

All 11 players dressed for the Rambelles ended up seeing action as well, with Brighton Adams and Neely Woodscoring three and two points, respectively, while Kyla Cobb and Taylor Moravcik also played for the Rambelles on the evening.

The Rambelles improve to 4-9 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They return to action on Saturday against Texas Woman’s, with that game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

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PLAINVIEW – Six players recorded double-figure statistics, and Wayland Baptist came through down the stretch as the sixth-ranked Flying Queens bounced back with a satisfying 88-80 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Texas Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in Hutcherson Center.

“That was a much-needed win for our group,” WBU coach Jason Cooper said. “I was very proud of the mental toughness and resolve that we showed in this game. Texas Wesleyan is very athletic and very fast up-and-down the floor. We played some fast teams this year but nothing like that. The girls really had to dig deep and come together to get that victory. And now we know we can do it against a team like that.”

The Queens (16-2, 8-1 SAC) trailed 59-56 after the third period but scored the first five of the fourth and never trailed again. It was tied at 66 with 6:20 to play when WBU scored six straight points. The Rams (13-2, 7-2) hit a 3-pointer to pull to within 75-72, but the Queens began pulling away with back-to-back-to-back fast-break buckets – a 3-pointer by Ashlyn Shelley and layups by Kaylee Edgemon and Angel Hayden after a steal.

That gave Wayland its largest lead of the game, 10 points, with just over a minute to play. The Queens then iced it at the free-throw line by making six foul shots down the stretch, including a 4-for-4 effort by Shelley.

“I told the starting five this game was going to require them to all play 30-plus minutes and they accepted and met that challenge,” Coach Cooper said.

Cooper finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and nine assists and Kaitlyn Edgemon had 15 points and 15 boards to lead numerous impressive stat lines. Shelley added 18 points, including 7-of-7 free throws, Kaylee Edgemon 14 points and seven rebounds, and freshman Taryn Shultz 10 points off the bench. Fapou Semebene finished with 10 rebounds, helping Wayland to a 57-48 edge in that department.

“Such great stat lines all around today,” Coach Cooper said. “Kaitlyn’s 15 and 15 was huge. Jenna getting 19 and nine assists, Kaylee’s 14 and 7… We expect those type of numbers from those two, but we can’t take their high level of play for granted.

“Ashlyn stepped up in a big way with her 18 points. When’s she’s hitting we are very tough to guard. Angel (Hayden) is an amazing point guard. She does so much every game that just doesn’t show up in the stats, but her ball-handling and facilitation of the offense is second to none. She is special.

“Taryn has really started to come into her own lately. What a spark off the bench she has become. Lefty (Sembene) played some big and key minutes today. She really stepped up and made an impact on the defensive end and rebounding. I was proud of her turn around.”

Texas Wesleyan’s Kertisa Amos scored 22 to lead all scorers. Two Lady Rams posted double-doubles: Zarria Carter with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Makayla Coy with 11 and 10.

The win came after rare losses for Wayland in its last two home games, including Thursday’s 81-77 setback to Science & Arts of Oklahoma. TXWES, meanwhile, went into the game on a roll, having won six in a row including 73-61 over Science & Arts.

The Flying Queens hit the road next week for games against North Texas at Dallas (9-7, 3-6) at 6 p.m. Thursday and Southwestern Assemblies of God (5-10, 2-7) at 2 p.m. Saturday. WBU’s next home game is Tuesday, Jan. 18 against Oklahoma-Panhandle State (4-7, 2-7).

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WICHITA FALLS – A record-shattering second half for the No. 3 ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team helped the Lions cruise to an 81-35 win over the Midwestern State Mustangs at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Thursday night and move to 10-0 on the season.
 
Midwestern State was held to just seven points in the second half, which is the least amount of points allowed by the Lions in a half under coach Jason Burton. The one point allowed in the fourth quarter is the lowest mark since the NCAA implemented quarters in women’s basketball in 2015-16. The Mustangs were held without a field goal in a quarter for the first time in program history.
 
The Mustangs, who fall to 5-4, did not make a field goal in the last 16 minutes and 50 seconds, scoring just two points in that stretch. The Lions’ margin of victory of 46 points is the most by either team in Wichita Falls in the 50 meetings between the two teams.
 
A&M-Commerce fell down 4-2 in the first two minutes of the game, but responded by scoring the next 11 points in a span of three minutes. Chania Wright (DeSoto) had four of the 11 points. The Lions held Midwestern State to shoot 0 for 5 in that stretch.
 
Mia Deck (Frisco – Lone Star) knocked down a three pointer with 2:48 to go in the first quarter to give the Lions their largest lead of the first half, 18-8. Midwestern State cut into the Lion lead by holding them scoreless for the next two minutes and trailed 20-14 at the end of the first half.
 
The Lions were held without a point for the first three and a half minutes in the second quarter. The Mustangs capitalized and cut it to 20-18. A jumper by Dyani Robinson (Langham Creek) with 4:55 to go in the quarter was A&M-Commerce’s first made field goal of the second quarter, giving the Lions a 23-20 lead.
 
Midwestern State stayed within one possession of the Lions for most of the second quarter and took its first lead of the half on a layup by Frances King at the 2:55 mark at 26-25. Robinson regained the lead for the Lions with an and-one. The Lions closed out the first half with a mini 4-0 run on jumpers by Wright and DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) to lead 32-28 at the half.
 
Laila Lawrence (Lewisville) was halfway towards a double-double in the first half with eight points and six rebounds. She also had 2 steals.
 
The Lions started the third quarter on a 6-0 run to match their largest lead of the game at 38-28. Lawrence gave the Lions a 48-33 lead with 4:03 to go in the third quarter, which was their largest lead up to that points. A&M-Commerce held the Mustangs without a made basket for six minutes and 50 seconds during the third quarter. Yasmine Sifaoui ended the Mustangs’ scoring drought with a free throw.
 
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Lions led by 53-34. The Mustangs were held to shoot 2 for 15 from the field in the third quarter and made one of their two free throw attempts, scoring one point in the last seven minutes of the third quarter.
 
The scoring drought for the Mustangs extended into the fourth quarter. They were held to a point in the quarter. A&M-Commerce scored 28 in the quarter.
 
Lawrence and Kernal nearly missed double doubles. Lawrence totaled 19 points on 8 for 16 shooting as well as nine rebounds and two blocks. Kernal grabbed 13 rebounds and scored nine points, she also had three assists.
 
Robinson led the team in scoring with 18, she also tallied three assists. Asiyha Smith (Conway, Ark.) scored seven points in the fourth quarter, while Wright scored six in the game.
 
Ravae Payne (Pearland) recorded four points and two rebounds. Deck scored six, while Victoria Hinton (Potomac, Va.) totaled four points and four rebounds.
 
No Midwestern State player had more than six points in the game. The two teams meet again in two weeks in Commerce to open Lone Star Conference play on Friday, December 31 at 2 p.m.

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HIALEAH, Fla. – The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens wrapped up their trip to the Sunshine State with another win here Wednesday, rolling past Florida National with a dominating second half for a 98-39 victory.

The win in WBU’s final non-conference game of the regular-season advanced the Flying Queens, who remained No. 6 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released earlier in the day, to 13-1, matching last season’s record. Florida National fell to 2-9.

Five Flying Queens scored in double-figures, led by Jenna Cooper’s near double-double of 22 points and nine assists, and 12 points and 10 rebounds by Angel Haydenfor her second double-double as a Flying Queen. Kaylee Edgemon went for 15 points while Kaitlyn Edgemon and Taryn Shultz added 11 each, with Kaitlyn grabbing nine rebounds. Ashley Shelley ended with seven points and as many rebounds, while Fapou Sembene put up six points and eight boards.

Wayland, who on Monday posted a come-from-behind 73-69 win over St. Thomas University, outscored Florida National by eight points in both the first and second periods to lead at halftime, 41-25. The Flying Queens then ran away from the home team in the second half with a 37-9 third period and a 20-5 fourth.

After making five 3-pointers in the first half, Florida National went 0-for-9 from beyond the arc after intermission and made just five field goals in 30 attempts in the final 20 minutes. The Flying Queens shot 62 percent (13-of-21) in the third.

WBU turned the ball over just six times, compared to 18 for Florida National, and held a 57-29 rebounding advantage.

The Flying Queens now take a 2½-week Christmas break before returning to Sooner Athletic Conference play Jan. 1 at Oklahoma City University.

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WICHITA FALLS – UT Tyler exploded for 43 second-half points to negate a halftime deficit and move to 7-0 for the first time in program history with a 75-63 win over Midwestern State on Monday night in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The non-conference win over the Mustangs betters the 6-0 start to the season for the 2017-18 UT Tyler team, establishing the best start in UT Tyler men’s basketball history for the 2021-22 Patriots. Graduate student Eysan Wiley led the charge back from a 36-32 Midwestern State first-half advantage with 18 second-half points, connecting on 5-of-6 from the field in the half alone in route to 22 points for the game.

The Patriots connected on 13-of-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes, and held Midwestern State to 0-for-14 from beyond the three-point line in the second half while continually pushing forward with steady offense. UT Tyler scored the first two baskets of the second half on jumpers from Micah Fuller and Milan Szabo, the second of which from Szabo knotted the game up at 36-36 with 18:35 left in the game.

Another dunk from Szabo and a successful and-one opportunity for Fuller capped off the seven unanswered for UT Tyler out of the halftime break and established a 41-36 lead for the Patriots. Midwestern State settled in after the hot second-half start for the Patriots and kept the deficit to around a one-possession ball game before Eysan began his second-half onslaught of scoring at the 12:48 mark.

Eysan changed the course of the remaining of the contest at that point with a jump-shot make and then three-consecutive made three-point buckets to break open the game at 57-46 with 10:28 left on the clock. That turning point allowed UT Tyler to control the tempo for the remainder of the contest with the lead firmly in tact, and led by as many as 13 on three different occasions in the final 10 minutes of play.

Midwestern State narrowed the margin to just seven with 1:14 remaining, but were eventually held at a comfortable distance thanks to 14 free-throw makes in the second half by the Patriots.

Szabo added 14 points and nine rebounds to help compliment the solid outing from Wiley, who’s 22-point total on Monday night is the second time the graduate transfer has gone for 20 or more points this season. Szabo has now reached double-digit scoring totals in three out of his last four games and has totaled nine rebounds in each of the last two wins for the Patriots.

Senior Da’Zhon Wyche scored 10 points to follow up consecutive 19-point outings against Mississippi College and Dallas Baptist in the last two Patriot victories.

UT Tyler finished the game 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) from the field and went 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from behind the three-point line. The Patriots won the rebounding battle for the sixth time in seven games this season, finishing with 40 while Midwestern State had 33.

The Patriots will return home with their undefeated 7-0 record on Thursday of this week to begin a two-game home stand. Thursday’s game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against UAFS and Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip against Oklahoma Christian.

Thursday’s game against UAFS will consistent of a toy drive hosted by the UT Tyler Police Department. The UT Tyler Police Department is asking that attendees please bring a new unwrapped toy for donation. Each toy brought to the women’s or men’s game will equal one free entry into that night’s contests. Only new and unwrapped toys will be accepted.

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Wayland Baptist scored the final seven points of the game, and the sixth-ranked Flying Queens fended off the upset attempt of St. Thomas here Monday, 73-69.

After trailing by as many as eight in the third quarter, Wayland (12-1) found itself behind the Bobcats (7-5) 69-66 with a minute to play. Flying Queen Kaitlyn Edgemon nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the score with 37 seconds left. Wayland’s Fapou Semebene then came up with a pivotal steal, which led to Kaitlyn Edgemon feeding Semebene for a lay-up and a two-point WBU lead with 15 seconds to go.

STU missed a long 3-pointer, and Wayland was awarded possession when the rebound went out of bounds. Flying Queen Jenna Cooper was fouled and calmly put the game on ice by sinking a pair of free throws with three seconds to play.

Semebene and Cooper tied for high-point honors, hitting 19 points each. It’s the second straight game for Semebene to notch a career-high, bettering the 15 she scored against Oklahoma-Panhandle State six days earlier. She also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for a second straight double-double. Cooper added eight boards and a team-leading six assists.

Kaylee Edgemon tacked on 17 points while sister Kaitlyn got 10. Angel Hayden provided half of WBU’s eight steals, and Taryn Shultz got seven rebounds.

The Queens made 11-of-13 free throws (83 percent) compared to STU’s 13-of-23 (57 percent). Wayland went 6-of-21 (29 percent) from 3-point range where the Bobcats were 8-of-26 (31 percent). 

The Flying Queens will stay in Florida for another game at 4 p.m. (CST) Wednesday in Hialeah against Florida National (2-7).

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RICHARDSON, Texas – Following a first win of the season for the Angelo State women’s basketball team, the Rambelles’ Madeline Stephens has been named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced this afternoon.

The Lubbock native earns the award after posting her fifth-career double-double and her first double-double of the season in the Rambelles’ victory over St. Edward’s on Saturday in Brownwood. Stephens shot 7-9 from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line in five attempts to score 19 points and grab ten rebounds.

On the season, the second-year guard has started all ten games for the Rambelles, averaging 6.7 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per contest. She is shooting 53 percent from the floor and is tied for the team lead for blocks with five.

Stephens becomes the first player under head coach Alesha Ellis to win a weekly award and is the first Rambelle to win a weekly conference honor since Sawyer Lloyd and De’Anira Moore swept the defensive and offensive player of the week honors back on December 9^th, 2019.

Stephens and the Rambelles are back in action inside the Junell Center tomorrow against Huston-Tillotson, with that game scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

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