LAREDO, Texas – The 12^th-ranked Angelo State men's basketball held off Texas A&M International, winning 74-71 on the road on Thursday night.
 
In a battle among undefeated teams, the Rams held on to win after Devaughn Thomas hit a step back three at the buzzer to keep his team perfect at 7-0 on the season. The Dustdevils take their first loss of the season, moving to 6-1 on the year.
 
Both teams started even in the first half as Kendrick Washington hit a three to give ASU a 13-9 advantage six minutes into the game.
 
Tied 24-24, TAMIU used an 8-0 run to pull ahead in the first half before settling on a 38-33 advantage at the break.
 
The Rams edged out the Dustdevils in shooting, 47.1 percent to 45.5 while TAMIU held the rebounding advantage 33 to 27.
 
Lathaniel Bastian got things going for the Rams in the second half with a dunk for the first points of the period, starting a 12-2 run by the Rams to regain the lead.
 
Bastian finished with a game-high 22 points, scoring his highest total as a Ram. He added eight rebounds along with a block and a steal.
 
The Dustdevils kept up the fight, eventually taking back the lead midway through the second half before a three-pointer gave them their largest lead of the second half at 60-53 with 7:44 to play.
 
After trading buckets back and forth, Kelyn Pennie regained the lead for ASU, hitting a three to go up 67-66. Pennie finished with 12 points on the night, shooting 4-of-6 from three-point range.
 
Tied 69-69, Bastian knocked down two free throws before TAMIU tied the game once again with a layup with 11.6 seconds remaining in the game.
 
For the second game in a row, Thomas found the winning shot, stepping back with the clock winding down before hitting a three with a defender close to seal the victory.
 
Thomas finished with 10 points in the game along with Paul Williams who added 10 of his own. Tyrell Carroll added eight points and nine assists to go along with three steals and four rebounds.
 
The Rams will continue non-conference play on the road on Saturday as they take on Texas A&M – Kingsville on Dec. 4 at 4 p.m.