MSU Men's Basketball Game Day

Lone Star Conference champion Midwestern State closes out league play Saturday night against rival Tarleton State at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.

The Mustangs roll into the contest winning seven of their last eight games while clinching the outright conference title with a win over Texas A&M-Commerce Wednesday night in Wichita Falls.

Tarleton State has lost two of the last three, but is 13-2 in the comfortable confines of Wisdom Gym this season. The Texans dropped home games to Southwest Assemblies of God and Cameron.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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MUSTANGS FAST BREAK

LAST TIME OUT:  Midwestern State senior forward Corbin Thomas erupted for career highs with 27 points and 18 rebounds to lift the Mustangs to an 85-67 win over Texas A&M-Commerce Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The win clinched the Mustangs' seventh Lone Star Conference championship. MSU used a 17-1 run midway through the opening half to take control of the game and stretched to a 46-32 advantage at the half. The Mustangs led by as many as 26 points in the second half as the team combined for nine 3-pointers including four from Jeff Grayer, two each from Derrell Gibbs and Keith Spellman and another by Thomas. Grayer notched a season-high 13 points while Spellman tallied just many off of the bench. Cam Adderley added his 13th double figure game of the seaosn with 12 points to go along with six rebounds. Devondrick Walker had 17 points to lead the Lions.

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Tarleton State):  Midwestern State limited the Texans to a program low scoring output in taking a 50-34 win over Tarleton State on Jan. 12 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs set their own program record by holding TSU to 16.9 percent from the field (10-of-59) while outrebounding the Texans by a 54-42 margin. Senior forward Corbin Thomas tallied a game-high 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Cam Adderley and Keith Spellman chipped in 12 and 10 points respectively. De'Andre Upchurch was the lone Texan in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds off of the bench. The Tarleton State starting five of A'Darius Pegues, Davene Carter, Chuck Guy, Coleman Furst and Brian Word combined for 11 total points. Midwestern State has limited the Texans to 30 points or less in five of the last six halves of basketball played between the programs.

LSC CHAMPIONS X7:  Midwestern State has claimed the Lone Star Conference championship for the fifth time in the last seven seasons (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) after claiming back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000. The Mustangs, who have also clinched the top seed in the LSC Postseason Tournament in two weeks in Allen, own a two-game lead over Cameron (12-5) who tops a tightly packed field. The Aggies are trailed by Incarnate Word (9-6), Tarleton State (8-7), Texas A&M-Commerce (7-8), Texas A&M-Kingsville (7-8), Eastern New Mexico (7-8), West Texas A&M (6-9), Abilene Christian (5-11) and Angelo State (3-13). The top eight teams advance to postseason tournament play.

MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS: Midwestern State did not receive mention in the NABC Top 25 this week after falling to Angelo State. MSU is currently ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II South Central Region rankings behind Metro State (Colo.), Newman (Kan.), St. Mary's (Texas) and Fort Lewis (Colo.). Colorado Mesa, Adams State (Colo.), Cameron (Okla.), Tarleton State (Texas) and Arkansas-Fort Smith round out the rankings from 6-10. The top eight teams advance to the NCAA Division II postseason tournament beginning March 16-19 at campus sites.

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 58-15 (.795) 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 51-20 mark (.718) trailed by West Texas A&M at 39-32 (.549).

ROAD WARRIORS TURNED TO DOME DOMINANCE:  Midwestern State boasts a 6-2 road mark during Lone Star Conference play. The Mustangs must hit the road just one more time against Tarleton State, but are in the midst of closing out the season with seven of its last nine LSC contests under the dome beginning with its Jan. 26th contest against Cameron. MSU is 26-2 on its home floor under coach Nelson Haggerty and 68-4 (.944) since the start of the 2008-09 campaign which includes 42- and 21-game winning streaks. Midwestern boasts a 539-126 mark (.810) since the coliseum opened in 1969.

MUSTANGS RARING TO GO IN SECOND HALF:  Midwestern State has outscored or matched the opposition in 21 out of 24 games in the second half this season and is averaging 38.8 points while outscoring its foes by 7.0 points a game. The Mustangs have used the second-half rallies of overcome halftime deficits in 11 times this season. MSU has trailed by 10-or-more points in the first half eight occasions this season.

JUST GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE:  Midwestern State has out-rebounded or matched the opposition in 23 of 24 games this season as the Mustangs rank seventh in NCAA Division II and lead the Lone Star Conference in rebound margin (+10.5) while leading the LSC in offensive rebounds per game (16.3) and offensive rebound percentage (45.1). MSU has converted 392 offensive rebounds into 379 second chance points, which accounts for an astounding 22.2-percent of its total scoring output.

HAGGERTY ON A ROLL:  Midwestern State coach Nelson Haggerty goes for his 48th 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 and now seventh Lone Star Conference title along the way. Haggerty, who is 47-10 (.825) 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.

FORCING HISTORIC LOWS:  The count of pages flipped in opponents' record books is higher than points put on the scoreboard at times this season for Midwestern State. The Mustangs held Tarleton State to an all-time low scoring output in a 50-34 win on Jan. 12 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. MSU then held West Texas A&M to their second lowest output since entering NCAA Division II in 1986-87 in a 55-42 win on Feb. 6, 2013 at the First United Bank Center.

ALL-WINDEX TEAM:  Midwestern State ranks seventh in NCAA Division II and leads the Lone Star Conference with a +10.5 rebound margin. The Mustangs have outrebounded the opposition by at least 20 boards on six occasions this season including a +32 effort at Angelo State. Only one other Lone Star Conference team has achieved such a feat against NCAA competition this season as West Texas A&M controlled a +20 rebound edge at home against Angelo State. Abilene Christian and Cameron also controlled a +20 rebound edge against York (Neb.) and Southwest Adventist, respectively.

@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.

THOMAS THE TERROR:  Midwestern State senior forward Corbin Thomas erupted for a career-high 27 points and pulled down 18 rebounds Wednesday night against Texas A&M-Commerce. It was his eighth double-double of the season. He is averaging 17.8 points and 11 rebounds over his last four games.

GIBBS...BOTTOM!:  Sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs has connected on a 3-pointer in each of his last nine games matching a season high with three treys against Cameron (1/26) and Abilene Christian (2/13). Gibbs has knocked 15-of-28 shots (53.6 percent) from beyond the arc during the stretch.

CAM GETS IT STARTED IN HERE:  Midwestern State junior Cam Adderley has picked up the scoring pace after moving into the starting lineup 10 games ago at Eastern New Mexico (12/31). The transfer from Northeastern CC (Colo.) has scored in double figures in 12 or 14 games as a starter to raise his scoring average from 4.8 to 9.0 points per game during his run as a starter which includes a season-high 17-point, 5-rebound performance on Feb. 2 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Adderley is averaging 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 27.4 minutes per game as a starter.

NEXT TIME OUT:  Midwestern State closes the regular season by playing host to NAIA Paul Quinn (Texas) on Sunday, March 3 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
  

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SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

TARLETON STAET
// Saturday, 02.23.2013 // 7 p.m. // Wisdom Gym // Stephenville, Texas
Live Stats | Audio Streaming (BOB-FM) | Video Streaming | Game Notes (PDF)

Tarleton State (15-8, 8-7) have dropped two of their last three games, but both of those were away from Wisdom Gym. The Texans boast a 13-2 mark on their floor this season and have won five-straight since taking a 71-62 loss to Cameron on Jan. 9. Junior Chuck Guy has been on a roll scoring 19-or-more points in each of TSU's last five games and is coming off of a 26-point effort Wednesday night at Cameron. The 5-11 guard from Fort Worth leads the Texans scoring 14.2 points to go along with 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game. Junior guard Coleman Furst is the only other Texan averaging in double figures with 10.5 points a game while firing in treys at a 47-percent clip. Junior guard DeAndre Upchurch pitches in 9.8 points while senior guard Brian Word adds 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. Sophomore forward Davene Carter adds 5.9 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 76.3 percent from the field. Tarleton State scores 64.3 points and allows 58.7 points a game.

About the Series: Midwestern State meets Tarleton State for the 65th time on the hardwood Saturday night at Wisdom Gym. The Mustangs control a commanding 43-21 edge in the series that dates back to the 1961-62 season. MSU claimed wins in each of the last three meetings, but have lost in its last two trips to Stephenville. However, the Mustangs are 14-10 all-time at Wisdom and are 8-8 since the programs began playing Lone Star Conference games in 1996-97.