STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Midwestern State's big first half was more than enough Wednesday night at Wisdom Gym.

It was plenty ample to give the 7th-ranked Mustangs enough breathing to roll over Tarleton State 66-49.

And it was a perfect way to set up MSU's 20th win in its first 21 games which is the quickest any team in school history as won as many games.

"I felt our guys did a great job of representing the school," MSU coach Grant McCasland said. "It means a lot to have a big crowd which included President (Jesse W.) Rogers, Dr. (Howard) Farrell and Charlie Carr. It's great when everyone can get involved."

Getting involved is exactly what it was all about in the opening half as the Mustangs utilized runs of 22-4, 12-4 and 8-0 to roll out to a commanding 47-14 halftime lead.

"(The big lead) was a credit to our team preparing for the game," McCasland said. "We just haven't any shot and were just due. The important thing was they weren't early in the clock. We made them work and play defense."

The Mustangs, who improved to 5-1 in the LSC South, blistered the nets at a 66.7-percent rate in the first which included an 8-for-12 effort from the 3-point arc as Midwestern came in averaging six 3-pointers a game.

Junior guard Chris Hagan led the charge by hitting three first-half treys on his way to 11 points in the opening stanza, while senior forward Anthony Moore buried two other and Michael Godwin threw in yet another.

Even sophomore guard Melvin Clark got in on the act by hitting two of his own late in the half to culminate an 8-0 run.

Meanwhile, Tarleton managed to shoot just 5-of-25 (20 percent) from the floor and ended the contest hitting just three of 22 shots from beyond the arc.

"We stuck to the scouting reports," McCasland said. "Credit goes to Chris Hagan for keep the Tarleton guards at bay in the first half."

The Mustangs limited Corin Henry, Devon Hills and Effran Bryant to a combined 10 points in the opening half who came in averaging a combined 33.3 points a contest.

Senior forward Rashad Austin paced MSU with a season-high 16 points, while Hagan finished with 14.

Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, while Green finisehd with eight points and six rebounds.

Hills paced the Texans, who fell 17-4 and 5-1 after having their six-game winning streak snapped, with 15 points.

The teams battle again for the outright LSC South Division lead Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.