MSU Men's Basketball Game Day

Midwestern State continues its quest for its seventh Lone Star Conference postseason tournament championship Friday night when the Mustangs face a semifinal battle against Incarnate Word.
 
The teams meet for the first time in LSC postseason play, but MSU swept the Cardinals in regular season play. The Mustangs claimed wins in each of their last five meetings with UIW and in nine of the last 10.
 
MSU is 6-3 all time in the LSC postseason semifinal round.
 
Tipoff at Allen Event Center is set for 8:30 p.m.
   

---

MUSTANGS FAST BREAK

LAST TIME OUT:  Midwestern State senior guard Kevin Grayer erupted for a career-high 33 points to lead the Mustangs to a 92-84 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Wednesday night at the Allen Event Center. Grayer connected on 11-of-16 shots including three 3-pointers while going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe with three blocks and four steals. The Mustangs overcame a 5-point deficit to lead by as many as 20 points in the second half while shooting 69 percent from the field after intermission. Junior forward Derek Kaster connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field to notch a season-high 18 points while Chris Buttermore also scored a campaign best 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Incarnate Word):  Midwestern State's Kevin Grayer knocked in a game-high 15 points while Corbin Thomas chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Mustangs to a 67-54 win over Incarnate Word on Jan. 13 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. MSU held a four-point halftime lead and stretched the advantage to as many as 17 points in the second half. The Mustangs outrebounded the Cardinals by a 48-23 margin while holding Dionelle Rucker to 13 points while Denzel Livingston added 11 more.
 
IN THE RANKINGS:  Midwestern State is no longer receiving votes in the NABC Division II Top 25 after starting the season at No. 23. The Mustangs are currently ranked third in the NCAA Division II South Central Region rankings trailing Metro State (Colo.) and Fort Lewis (Colo.). The top eight teams advance to the NCAA Division II Postseason Championship field that is set to be released Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
 
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.
 
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 58-16 (.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).
 
MUSTANGS RUN WILD IN LSC POSTSEASON:  Midwestern State owns the highest all-time winning percentage in Lone Star Conference postseason history with a 22-6 mark (.786) over 12 appearances. The Mustangs are 10-3 in opening round games including wins in their last six first round contests. MSU boasts a 6-3 record in the semifinal rounds and is a perfect 6-0 in the postseason championship round. The Mustangs are going for an LSC record seventh postseason title.
 
MUSTANGS SECURE 20TH WIN:  Midwestern State claimed its 20th win of the season Wednesday night 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 130-30 mark over the last five seasons.
 
MUSTANGS RARING TO GO IN SECOND HALF:  Midwestern State has outscored or matched the opposition in 23 out of 27 games in the second half this season and is averaging 38.9 points while outscoring its foes by 5.8 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.
 
JUST GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE:  Midwestern State has out-rebounded or matched the opposition in 25 of 27 games this season as the Mustangs rank third in NCAA Division II and lead the Lone Star Conference in rebound margin (+10.5) while leading the LSC in offensive rebounds per game (16.2) and offensive rebound percentage (44.7). MSU has converted 438 offensive rebounds into 435 second chance points, which accounts for an astounding 22.1-percent of its total scoring output.
 
HAGGERTY GOING FOR 50TH WIN:  Midwestern State coach Nelson Haggerty goes for his 50th 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 49-11 (.817) 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 third 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 seven 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 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 double-doubles in four of his last six games to up his season averages to 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. He owns 10 double-doubles this season.
 
GIBBS...BOTTOM!:  Sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs has connected on a 3-pointer in 11 of his last 12 games matching a season high with three treys against Cameron (1/26), Abilene Christian (2/13) and Tarleton State (2/23). Gibbs has knocked down 19-of-37 shots (51.4 percent) from beyond the arc during the stretch.
 
KG ERUPTS FOR 33:  Senior guard Kevin Grayer poured in a career-high 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting with three 3-pointers while going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe Wednesday night against Texas A&M-Commerce. It was his third 20-plus point performance of the season. Grayer's previous season high came in a 24-point effort against Eastern New Mexico (2/9/13) after tallying 20 points against Cameron (1/26/13). He has scored in double figures 19 times this season.
 
CAM GETS IT STARTED IN HERE:  Midwestern State junior Cam Adderley has picked up the scoring pace after moving into the starting lineup to start the spring semester at Eastern New Mexico (12/31). The transfer from Northeastern CC (Colo.) has scored in double figures in 13 or 17 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 11.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game as a starter.
 
KASTER HITS FOR SEASON HIGH:  Midwestern State junior forward Derek Kaster connected on 8-of-10 shots including his fifth 3-pointer of the season to finish with 18 points and six rebounds Wednesday against Texas A&M-Commerce. It was his second consecutive 10-plus point outing and ninth of the season.
 
NEXT TIME OUT:  With a win, Midwestern State advance to the LSC Postseason Tournament finals for the seventh time. The Mustangs would face either Tarleton State or West Texas A&M.
  

---

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

INCARNATE WORD
// Friday, 03.08.2013 // 8:30 p.m. // Allen Event Center // Allen, Texas
Live Stats | Audio Streaming (BOB-FM) | Video Streaming | Game Notes (PDF)

Incarnate Word (14-13) had lost seven of eight games heading into tournament play before rallying from 11 points down with 1:28 to play to eventually beat Texas A&M-Kingsville 80-75 in overtime. Senior forward Dionelle Rucker poured in a season-high 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while senior guard Lyn'Dale Brown added 24 points and 18 rebounds to key the victory.
 
Rucker finished the season as the Lone Star Conference's scoring leader averaging 18.6 points a game scoring in double figures in 24 of 27 games including nine games with at least 20 points. Brown chips in 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest. The Cardinals boast a group of six players averaging at least 9.0 points a game including sophomore guard Denzel Livingston (12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds), freshman guard Kyle Hittle (10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds), junior guard Andre Corley (10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds) and junior forward Anthony Horton (9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds).


About the Series: Midwestern State meets Incarnate Word for the 25th time on the hardwood Friday night in the semifinal round of the LSC Postseason Tournament at the Allen Event Center. The Mustangs own a 13-11 edge in the series that dates back to the 1991-92 season. MSU has won the last five meetings between the programs and has been victorious in nine of the last 10. This marks the first time the Mustangs and Cardinals have met in LSC Postseason Tournament play, but not the first time the teams have hooked up in the postseason. MSU eliminated the Cardinals 80-72 in the opening round of the NCAA II South Central Regionals on March 14, 2009 in Warrensburg, Mo. then again by a score of 91-74 in the same round of the tournament on March 13, 2010 in Wichita Falls.