MSU Men's Basketball Game Day

Midwestern State aims to advance to the South Central Regional finals for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in program history Sunday night at Auraria Event Center.

No. 3 Metro State (Colo.) stands in the way as the the host school and top seed.

The Roadrunners are also gunning for a return trip to the Elite Eight as both teams have advanced to NCAA II postseason play in each of the past five seasons.

MSU is riding a 10-game winning streak in South Central Region play dating back to 2010.

Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. (CDT).
     

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SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

METROPOLITAN STATE
// Sunday, 03.17.2013 // 8:30 p.m. (CDT) // Auraria Event Center // Denver, Colo.
Live Stats | Audio Streaming (BOB-FM) | Video Streaming | Game Notes (PDF)

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS:  Metro State (Colo.) (28-2) rallied to win its last five games after losing its lone two games in a three-game span from Feb. 22-March 1. The Roadrunners rattled off 22 consecutive wins from the start of the season.

Metro State is led by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year Jonathan Morse. The 6-8 senior forward from Boulder, Colo. pours in 14.6 points a game while pulling down 8.7 rebounds. Morse has scored 20-or-more points nine times this season including a season-best 29-point, 11-rebound effort against Colorado-Colorado Springs (3/2/13).

But Morse has plenty of support in two more All-RMAC first-teamers.

Junior guard Brandon Jefferson actually leads MSUD in scoring with 15 points a game dropping in 20-or-more points 10 times this season.

Sophomore guard Mitch McCarron adds 13.0 points with 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He has scored 20-or-more points five times this season.

Senior guard Demetrius Miller (13.6 points, 1.9 rebounds) garnered second-team honors while sophomore center Nicholas Kay (10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds) was a third-teamer.

The Roadrunners average 79.2 points a game and allow 62.2.

ABOUT THE SERIES:  Midwestern State meets Metro State (Colo.) for the second time on the hardwood Sunday night in the NCAA Division II South Central Region semifinals at Auraria Event Center in Denver. MSU claimed the lone meeting between the program by a 77-76 margin on Nov. 13, 1999 in the Disney Classic in Orlando, Fla.
 

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MUSTANGS FAST BREAK

LAST TIME OUT:  Senior forward Corbin Thomas poured in a game-high 26 points and pulled down eight rebounds to pace Midwestern State to an 82-60 win over over Newman (Kan.) in the NCAA Division II South Central Region quarterfinals Saturday night at Auraria Event Center. The Mustangs put the game away with a 31-8 run midway through the second after Newman creeped within a point at 39-38 with 16:16 to play. Junior guard Cam Adderley connected on 6-of-9 shots to finish with 14 points and 8 rebounds. The Mustangs limited the Jets to 38.3 percent shooting and controlled a 44-24 edge on the glass.

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Metro State):  Terrence Thomas beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the left wing to lift Midwestern State to a 77-76 win over top-ranked Metro State in the Disney Classic played at the Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla. on Nov. 13, 1999. Jerome Jackson paced the Indians with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Thomas finished with 15 points including a trio of treys. Point guard Donald Hamilton pitched in 14 points including two 3s of his own.

SOUTH CENTRAL TIDBITS

- The Mustangs (2009, 2010, 2011) matched Southeast Missouri State (1988, 1989, 1990)  as the only teams to advance out of the South Central Region in three consecutive seasons.

- The South Central Region has existed in the NCAA Division II Tournament since 1959. This season marks the first time it has included the Lone Star, Hearland and Rocky Mountain Athletic conferences.

- Midwestern State is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Mustangs are one of only six teams to qualify for NCAA II postseason play for each of the last five seasons -- and one of only two from the South Central Region.

- Midwestern State is making its eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason which also includes appearances in 1999, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

- MSU earned its just its second at large bid into the national tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Mustangs advanced to the Elite Eight in its last at large season in 2011 as the No. 6 seed. Midwestern received automatic bids as LSC Postseason Tournament champs in 1999, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

- MSU claimed the No. 4 seed in the NCAA II South Central Regional for the second time. The Mustangs were also No. 4 advancing to the regional semifinals against Central Missouri in Warrensburg in 2009. MSU garnered the No. 1 seed as the tournament host in 1999, 2010 and 2012.  MSU was the No. 2 seed in 2000, No. 3 seed in 2007 and No. 6 in 2010.

- Midwestern State is 35-23 all time in national tournament which includes a 21-16 mark in 15 NAIA appearances and a 14-7 mark in seven NCAA showings.

LONE STAR CONFERENCE TIDBITS

- Midwestern State 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.

- 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 58-16 (.784) 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 53-21 mark (.716) trailed by West Texas A&M at 42-32 (.568).

- Midwestern State owns the highest all-time winning percentage in Lone Star Conference postseason history with a 23-7 mark (.767) over 12 appearances. The Mustangs are 10-3 in opening round games including wins in their last six first round contests. MSU boasts a 7-3 record in the semifinal rounds and is a perfect 6-1 in the postseason championship round.

- Midwestern State suffered its first LSC Postseason Tournament loss falling to Tarleton State 53-50 on March 9 at the Allen (Texas) Event Cetner. MSU is now 6-1 in the final round with wins over Tarleton State in 1999, West Texas A&M in 2000, Southeastern Okahoma in 2007, Southwestern Oklahoma in 2009, Tarleton State in 2010 and Tarleton State in 2012. The Mustangs have won 15 of their last 17 LSC Postseason Tournament games dating back to the 2007 tourney.

MUSTANGS TIDBITS

- Midwestern State claimed its 20th win of the season in the opening round of the LSC Postseason Tournament against Texas A&M-Commerce. The Mustangs have now won 20 games in each of the last five seasons It's the second longest 20-win season streak in school history as Midwestern won at least 20 games in eight consecutive seasons under the legendary Dr. Gerald Stockton from 1973-81. The Mustangs boast a cumulative 131-30 mark over the last five seasons.

- Midwestern State has outscored or matched the opposition in 25 out of 30 games in the second half this season and is averaging 39.1 points while outscoring its foes by 5.5 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 on nine occasions this season.

- Midwestern State has out-rebounded or matched the opposition in 28 of 30 games this season as the Mustangs rank fifth in NCAA Division II and lead the Lone Star Conference in rebounding margin (+10.9) while leading the LSC in offensive rebounds per game (16.1) and offensive rebound percentage (44.8). MSU has converted 483 offensive rebounds into 474 second chance points, which accounts for an astounding 21.7-percent of its total scoring output.

- Midwestern State coach Nelson Haggerty needed just 61 games to claim his 50th win since taking over the helm of the Midwestern State program in 2011-12 in the LSC semifinals against Incarnate Word. 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 51-12 (.810) 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.

- 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. 

- Midwestern State ranks fifth in NCAA Division II and leads the Lone Star Conference with a +10.9 rebound margin. The Mustangs have outrebounded the opposition by at least 20 boards on eight 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.

- Midwestern State senior forward Corbin Thomas has been named LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times while earning and a top offensive nod in another week. Thomas has notched 11 double-doubles this season while averaging to 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game.
  
NEXT TIME OUT:  With a win, Midwestern State moves on to face the winner of Sunday's first semifinal matchup between St. Mary's (Texas) and Fort Lewis (Colo.) in the South Central Region championship game set for 8 p.m. (Central Time) Tuesday night at Auraria Event Center in Denver.