Jacob Jardel
Sports Editor
@JJardel_Writing
The Cameron basketball teams ended their homestand with two wins against Angelo State on Jan. 20.
Both men’s and women’s teams took their games to the wire, sending Aggie fans home happy – but not without a little drama first.
Women’s Basketball
The Ags set up shop behind the arc to take down the Rambelles 87-83 in overtime.
Cameron hoisted up 40 three pointers, sinking 13 in their first overtime game since Feb. 8, 2014 against Tartleton. This win stymied Angelo’s winning streak at three games.
Head coach Tom Webb commended the team on their endurance and effort in the extended matchup.
“Everyone on our team went out and competed tonight,” he said in a press release. “It was fun to coach tonight, and I’m just proud of them.”
Brandi Leal led the Aggie charge, scoring 23 points in 33 minutes and going 7 for 19 from behind the arc. The senior guard was one make away from tying her record for threes in a game.
Junior Dayla Threatt contributed to the effort with her first career double-double. She finished with 21 points and 12 boards.
Guards Brittany Hill and Charon Montgomery also finished with double-digit point totals, adding 10 points each. Montgomery also dished out nine assists.
The game started close, with Leal’s 11 points and Hill’s buzzer-beating jumper putting the Black and Gold ahead 23-20. The late spark gave the team enough fuel to take the 42-35 despite a 7-for-21 shooting performance for the quarter.
The Belles charged back to start the second half, getting within three with under a minute and a half in the third quarter. CU rallied to finish the period on a 6-0 run to hold onto a 62-53 lead.
Angelo clamped down on defense in the fourth frame, holding the Aggies to 11 points en route to tying up the game at 73 apiece with 15 seconds left in regulation. The game went into extra time after the Aggies failed to convert on the final possession of the fourth.
The teams traded shots and the lead throughout the overtime period. Threatt drilled two free throws with under a minute left to bring the score to 83-82, putting Cameron ahead for the remainder of the game.
The Aggies won the battle of the boards, roping in 45 rebounds to ASU’s 39. Threatt lead the team with her dozen, while forward DJ Vallier came off the bench to add seven boards along with her six points.
However, the Rambelles would shoot five percent better than the Aggies from the field. The difference for Cameron was the three point shooting, nailing 13 from behind the arc compared to ASU’s seven.
Cameron moves to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference, while Angelo drops to 10-5 and 3-2.
The women’s team will be in action again when they host Texas Woman’s University on Jan. 27.
Men’s Basketball
The Aggies continued their late-game theatrics with a last-second win against the #11 Rams.
Down 12 in the final five minutes of the game, Cameron rallied to win 80-79 on senior Deondre Ray’s tip-in.
Coach Nate Gamet was proud of the team and their resilience.
“The guys did a really good job staying in there,” he said in a press release. “A lot of teams would have folded down … but they just kept battling and chipped away.”
Ray finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Forward Jamaal Brantley led the team with 20 points and contributed seven boards. Guards JV Long and Cameron Lee finished with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
Brantley led the Aggie charge from the jump, scoring 12 of CU’s 14 points before going cold for the rest of the half. But the Black and Gold’s 11 turnovers led to 15 points for the Rams, who finished the half up 44-39.
The Rams carried this momentum into the second half, scoring seven unanswered points before Cameron fought back to tie the game at 63 with just over 8 minutes left. The teams traded 12-0 runs, with ASU taking a 75-63 lead before CU knotted the score.
The teams would continue to trade the lead for the remainder of the game, but Ray’s second-chance effort with six seconds left proved to be the decisive basket to seal the Aggie win.
The Aggies also won the rebounding battle 45-34. They shot a 47.5 percent clip from the field, edging out ASU by three percentage points.
The Aggies are now 11-7 on the season, 4-2 in LSC play. ASU dropped to 14-3 and 2-3.
The Aggie men will hit the court next when both teams face off against Midwestern State on Jan. 30 in Wichita Falls.