MSU Men's Basketball Game Day

Midwestern State goes for its fifth straight win at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and third consecutive win overall Saturday night against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The Mustangs have dominated against Javelinas by taking the last 10 games of the series dating back to the 2007-08 season.

Texas A&M-Kingsville has lost its three games and three of the last four after falling 82-79 in double overtime Thursday night in Lawton. The Hoggies are 1-5 away from Steinke Center this season.

Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. 

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MUSTANGS FAST BREAK

LAST TIME OUT: Midwestern State dominated the boards by a 48-23 margin and scored 19 second-chance points to come away with a 67-54 win over Incarnate Word in a Lone Star Conference first-place showdown Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Senior guard Kevin Grayer led the way with 15 points and six assists while senior forward Corbin Thomas notched his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs wrangled a season-high 11 rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville): Midwestern State's Keith Spellman hit 10-of-12 from the free throw line to finish with a game-high 15 points as the Mustangs overcame a 10-point first half deficit to come away with a 67-64 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 1 at Steinke Center. Senior guard Kevin Grayer pitched in 11 points and six rebounds off of the bench while sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs pitched in nine points. Jamahl Brown paced the Javelinas with 14 points off of the bench.

MUSTANGS TAKE SOLE POSSESSION OF LSC LEAD: Midwestern State (9-2) regained sole possession of first place in the Lone Star Conference in its quest for a seventh title since joining the league in 1997. MSU is one game head of the Incarnate Word (8-3) and controls the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cardinals by virtue of a season sweep. Cameron (7-4) controls the No. 3 position followed by West Texas A&M (5-6), Texas A&M-Kingsville (5-6), Eastern New Mexico (5-6), Tarleton State (4-5), Texas A&M-Commerce (4-5), Abilene Christian (4-7) and Angelo State (2-9).

5 SEASONS, 50 LSC WINS: Midwestern State claimed its 50th Lone Star Conference victory since the start of the 2008-09 season on Jan. 5 at Angelo State. The Mustangs are a cool 53-14 (.791) during the time span which includes three Elite Eights (2010, 2011, 2012) and three Lone Star Conference titles (2009, 2010, 2012). Tarleton State is second with a 47-18 mark (.723) trailed by West Texas A&M at 38-29 (.567).

ROAD WARRIORS TURNING TO DOME DOMINANCE: Midwestern State boasts a 5-2 road mark during Lone Star Conference play. The Mustangs owe road trips to West Texas A&M and Tarleton State, but close out the season with seven of its last nine LSC contests under the dome beginning on Jan. 26 against Cameron. MSU is 22-1 on its home floor under coach Nelson Haggerty and 64-3 (.955) since the start of the 2008-09 campaign which includes 42- and 21-game winning streaks. Midwestern boasts a 535-125 mark (.811) since the coliseum opened in 1969.

MUSTANGS RARING TO GO IN SECOND HALF: Midwestern State has outscored or matched the opposition in 17 out of 18 games in the second half this season and is averaging 40.2 points while outscoring its foes by 8.7 points a game. The Mustangs have used the second-half rallies of overcome halftime deficits in 11 of 18 games this season. MSU has trailed by 10-or-more points in the first half seven times this season.

JUST GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE: Midwestern State has out-rebounded or matched the opposition in each of its 18 outings this season as the Mustangs rank fifth in NCAA Division II and lead the Lone Star Conference in rebound margin (+10.6) while leading the LSC in offensive rebounds per game (16.2) and offensive rebound percentage (44.2). MSU has converted 292 offensive rebounds into 286 second chance points, which accounts for an astounding 22.1-percent of its total scoring output.

HAGGERTY ON A ROLL: Midwestern State coach Nelson Haggerty goes for his 43rd win since taking over the helm of the Midwestern State program in 2011-12. Haggerty led the Mustangs to their third consecutive NCAA II South Central Region championship last season winning the school's sixth Lone Star Conference title along the way. Haggerty, who is 42-9 (.824) in two seasons at MSU, has been a part of Elite Eights in each of the last four seasons and five of the last six serving as an assistant at Central Missouri (2007, 2009) before moving to MSU as Grant McCasland's top assistant (2010, 2011) and moving into his first head coaching role in 2011-12.

KG LEADING THE WAY: Senior guard Kevin Grayer paced Midwestern State in scoring for his first two times as a Mustangs in each of the last two games. Grayer followed a season-high 20-point, 8-assist effort last week against Cameron with a solid 15-point, 6-assist performance to lead MSU over Incarnate Word Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Grayer is dishing out 5.5 assists per game since taking over primary point guard duties at the break while boasting a stellar 2.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. It hasn't impacting his scoring touch either as he is dropping in 13.5 points a contest over the stretch.

@DUNKEMC AT #8!!: Midwestern State senior forward Corbin Thomas' alley-oop off of an inbound pass from Kevin Grayer on Jan. 12 against Tarleton State became the first MSU highlight to make ESPN's Top Plays of the Day countdown. The dunk has made Thomas a nominee for the State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships to be hosted at the site of the Final Four in Atlanta.

AND EVEN MORE CORBIN: Midwestern State senior forward Corbin Thomas has scored in double figures in nine of his last 11 games including five double-doubles dating back to a home win over West Texas A&M on Dec. 5. The transfer from Missouri State leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 70th in NCAA Division II with 8.1 rebounds a game and rates seventh in the league and 50th nationally with a 55.5 field goal percentage. Thomas leads the Mustangs in scoring at 13.2 points per game.

CAM LIKES TO START: Midwestern State junior Cam Adderley has picked up the scoring pace after moving into the starting lineup seven games ago at Eastern New Mexico (12/31). The transfer from Northeastern CC (Colo.) has scored in double figures in each of his last seven games to raise his scoring average from 4.8 to 8.2 points per game during his run as a starter which includes a season-high 16-point, 5-rebound performance last week at Cameron. Adderley is averaging 12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game as a starter.

BUTTERMORE GOES FOR SEASON HIGHS: Senior forward Chris Buttermore matched campaign bests with eight points and six rebounds Thursday night against Incarnate Word. It was his third game with eight points (vs. LSU-Shreveport (11/9), Mid-America Christian (12/17)) and second game with six rebounds (Mid-America Christian). Buttermore's career high of 13 points came against St. Mary's in the opening round of the South Central Regional on March 10, 2012.

GIBBS GRABS BOARDS: Sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs snagged a career-high 11 rebounds Thursday night against Incarnate Word. His previous high of 10 was set against Jarvis Christian on Nov. 23, 2011.

NEXT TIME OUT: Midwestern State hits the road to take on West Texas A&M Wednesday night at First United Bank Center in Canyon. The Mustangs are 1-9 against the Buffs since the FUBC opening in 2003 with its lone victory coming by a 61-55 count on Feb. 24, 2007. MSU is 6-24 against WT in Canyon. 

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SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
// Saturday, 02.02.2013 // 6 p.m. // D.L. Ligon Coliseum // Wichita Falls, Texas
Live Stats | Audio Streaming (BOB-FM) | No Video Streaming | Game Notes (PDF)

Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-9, 5-6) rides a three-game skid into Saturday's contest and has lost four of its last five. To compound the woes, the Hoggies have managed just one win in six tries off of its home floor at the Steinke Center this season. Junior guard Rashad Basey is coming off of a 27-point effort in Thursday night's double overtime loss at Cameron. Basey leads Texas A&M-Kingsville in scoring at 15.2 points a game to go along with 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Sophomore guard Adonis Bailey adds 9.8 points and 2.8 rebounds a game since becoming eligible at the break. Junior guard Jamahl Brown (9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds), junior guard Dwight Taylor (6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds), senior forward Reid Wallace (6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds) and junior forward Adam Mughmaw (6.0 points, 5.7 rebounds) all average more than six points a game for Texas A&M-Kingsville.

About the Series: Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Kingsville meet for the 38th time on the hardwood Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs own a commanding 26-11 edge in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season. MSU has won the last 10 games of the series with the Hoggies' last win coming by a 78-63 count on Feb. 16, 2008. The Mustangs have won their last four meetings against TAMUK at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and boast a 12-5 overall record against the Hoggies under the dome.