MSU Men's Basketball Game Day

Midwestern State goes for its seventh Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament title Saturday night when it squares off with rival Tarleton State at the Allen Event Center.

The Mustangs and Texans square off for the third time this season and 14th time in the last four seasons in one of the best and most intense rivalries in NCAA Division II basketball.

This marks the fourth time in LSC Postseason Tournament history the programs have met in the LSC finals -- MSU has won all of them.

Tipoff at Allen Event Center is set for 8:30 p.m.
     

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SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

TARLETON STATE
// Saturday, 03.09.2013 // 8:30 p.m. // Allen Event Center // Allen, Texas 
Live Stats | Audio Streaming (BOB-FM) | Video Streaming | Game Notes (PDF)

Tarleton State (19-9) rolled to comfortable wins over Eastern New Mexico (72-59) and West Texas A&M (66-48) in the opening rounds of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament to advance to the finals for the fourth straight year and for the ninth time in program history.
 
The Texans are led by junior guard Chuck Guy, who averages 14.9 points, 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds a game. Guy has scored in double figures 21 times this season including a 15-point, 8-assist effort Thursday against Eastern New Mexico and a 17-point, 7-assist performance Friday against West Texas A&M. Junior guard De'Andre Upchurch adds 10.4 points a game while junior guard Coleman Furst scores 10.3 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. Senior guard Brian Word (7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds), sophomore forward Davene Carter (5.4 points, 4.6 rebounds), sophomore forward Damion Clemons (5.1 points, 4.6 rebounds) and junior forward Jon Cathey-Macklin (5.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks) are also key contributors for the Texans.


About the Series: Midwestern State meets Tarleton State meet for the 66th time on the hardwood Saturday night in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament finals at the Allen Event Center. The Mustangs own a commanding 43-22 edge in the series that dates back to the 1961-62 season. The teams meet for the 14th time over the last four seasons with the Mustangs claiming wins in eight of the 13 contests heading into Saturday's showdown. MSU is 5-1 all-time against the Texans on neutral floors including a 57-51 win in the 2012 LSC finals at the same venue. The Mustangs are also 3-0 against Tarleton State in LSC Tournament final games collecting titles against the Texans in 1999, 2010 and 2012. The teams split the regular season series with Midwestern State winning at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and Tarleton State taking the result at Wisdom Gym.
 

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MUSTANGS FAST BREAK

LAST TIME OUT:  Midwestern State junior guard Cam Adderley poured in a season-high 21 points to lead the Mustangs to an 85-73 win over Incarnate Word in the LSC Postseason Tournament semifinals Friday night at the Allen Event Center. MSU closed the first half on a 14-2 run to take a 34-24 edge into intermission and led by as many as 22 points in the second half. Senior forward Corbin Thomas connected on 8-of-10 from the field to finish with 18 points while senior guard Kevin Grayer and sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs pitched in nine points apiece. Lyn'Dale Brown paced Incarnate Word with 17 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Tarleton State):  Tarleton State's De'Andre Upchurch erupted for 23 points including an 11-for-11 effort from the charity stripe to lead the Texans to a 75-60 win over Midwestern State on Feb. 23 at Wisdom Gym. TSU outscored the Mustangs 46-29 in the second half closing the game on an 18-5 run. Midwestern State was whistled for an LSC season single-game high for fouls (32) for the second straight year at Wisdom Gym as the Texans connected on 21-of-25 second half free throws to seal the victory. MSU has been whistled for a combined 70 fouls in their last two appearances at Wisdom Gym. Senior forward Corbin Thomas paced the Mustangs with 19 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore guard Derrell Gibbs pitched in 14 points and pulled down eight boards.
 
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 23-6 mark (.793) 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 6-0 in the postseason championship round. The Mustangs are going for an LSC record seventh postseason title.
 
MSU IN THE LSC FINALS:  Each time Midwestern State has advanced to the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament finals, they have come away victorious. MSU is 6-0 in the final round with wins over Tarleton State in 1999, West Texas A&M in 2000, Southeastern Oklahoma in 2007, Southwestern Oklahoma in 2009, Tarleton State in 2010 and Tarleton State in 2012. The Mustangs have won 15 of their last 16 LSC Postseason Tournament games dating back to the 2007 tourney.
 
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 24 out of 28 games in the second half this season and is averaging 39.4 points while outscoring its foes by 5.7 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 26 of 28 games this season as the Mustangs rank sixth in NCAA Division II and lead the Lone Star Conference in rebound margin (+10.8) while leading the LSC in offensive rebounds per game (16.2) and offensive rebound percentage (44.9). MSU has converted 453 offensive rebounds into 452 second chance points, which accounts for an astounding 22.1-percent of its total scoring output.
 
HAGGERTY GETS 50TH WIN:  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 Friday night 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 50-11 (.820) 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 sixth in NCAA Division II and leads the Lone Star Conference with a +10.8 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 10 double-doubles this season while averaging to 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds a game.
  
NEXT TIME OUT:  Midwestern State awaits NCAA Division II Championship selection which is set for Sunday night at 9 p.m. The general public is invited to the selection show viewing set for Shawnee Theater in the Clark Student Center on the campus of Midwestern State University. South Central Regional tournament play begins on Saturday, March 16.