TIPOFF
Midwestern State resumes the First United Bank Challenge Cup series Wednesday night against rival West Texas A&M in Canyon. Tipoff from the First United Bank Center is set for 7:30 p.m.
 

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Midwestern State vs. West Texas A&M
Wednesday, Jan. 8 | 7:30 p.m.
First United Bank Center | Canyon, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (9-4, 1-0 LSC); West Texas A&M (7-4, 0-0 LSC)
Live Video: GoBuffsGo.com 
Live Audio: MSUMustangs.com  
Live Stats: GoBuffsGo.com 
Season Stat Pack: PDF
Career Stat Pack: PDF
All-Time Series: PDF
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M (7-4) has won three of its last four games since Vinay Patel took over head coaching responsibilities prior to the Newman (Kan.) game on Dec. 7, 2013 after Rick Cooper stepped down seven games into the season. Overall, the Buffs have claimed wins in six of their last eight games. Senior guard Drimir Ferguson, a transfer from Division I North Carolina Central, leads a quartet of WT players averaging in double figures at 14.9 points a game to go along with 5.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds, while junior guard Tez Dumars adds 13.0 points connecting on 40 percent (28-of-70) from the 3-point arc. Junior forward Antjuan Bell gives the  Buffaloes a legitimate inside threat averaging a double-double with 11.5 points and 10.8 rebounds a contest. Junior forward David Duncan is also solid on the interior with 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Junior guard Keon Pledger (8.3 points) and senior guard David Gibbs (7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds) are also solid performers for West Texas A&M.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 61st time on the hardwood Wednesday night at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. The Buffs lead the series that dates back to the 1947-48 season by a 34-26 margin and are 24-7 all-time against MSU in games played in Canyon. The Mustangs have won three of the last four meetings after claiming its first season sweep of the Buffs since 2006-07 last season. Midwestern won for the just the second time in 11 tries at the First United Bank Center taking a 55-42 decision on Feb. 6, 2013.
 
FIRST UNITED BANK HIGHWAY 287 CHALLENGE CUP
Midwestern State and West Texas A&M tipped off the beginning of an institutional competition between the two schools earlier this fall in a series known as the First United Bank Highway 287 Challenge Cup. The point-based competition tracks head-to-head matchups and conference championship results in 10 sports with each school accumulating points toward the overall series championship. West Texas A&M holds a narrow 6-5 edge in the series heading into Wednesday night's basketball doubleheader in Canyon. Each of Midwestern's five points have come on the soccer pitch with three in women's soccer and two on the men's side. West Texas A&M has claimed two volleyball victories, earned two points for Cross Country and two more for its 19-12 win on the gridiron.
 
LAST TIME OUT VS. WEST TEXAS A&M
Midwestern State limited West Texas A&M to 22.6 percent shooting and 11 first-half points on its way to a 55-42 win at the First United Bank Center on Feb. 6, 2013. The victory was the Mustangs' first win in the facility since the 2006-07 season and just the second in 11 tries. Junior guard Cam Adderley led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds while senior guard Kevin Grayer pitched in 10 points. Donald Sims paced WT with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
 

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ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State snapped a two-game skid with a solid 84-73 win over Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday in Commerce. Senior guard Monzaigo Williams leads the way for the Mustangs averaging 17.1 points while connecting at a 46.3-percent clip from the field and is 26 of 63 (41.3 percent) from the 3-point line. Williams ranks third in the LSC with 4.8 assists per game while pulling down 3.5 rebounds. Senior guard DeJuan Plummer comes off the bench to score 12.8 points a game and is shooting 41.7 percent from the field. Junior forward Xavier Blackburn has come on strong to up his averages to 8.9 points to go along with a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game. Blackburn is averaging 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game over his last four contests. Senior forward Eddie D'Haiti drops in 8.1 points and pulls down 4.6 rebounds a game while senior guard Cam Adderley contributes 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. Senior forward Derek Kaster, who has missed two of the last three games due to injury, scores 7.5 points and hauls in 4.6 rebounds a contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Senior guard DeJuan Plummer matched a career-high with 21 points while Monzaigo Williams logged his second collegiate double-double with 17 points and 10 assists to lead Midwestern State to an 84-73 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in its LSC opener Saturday afternoon. The loss was the Lions' first on their home this season and just their second setback of the campaign. Senior forward Xavier Blackburn added 15 points and nine rebounds while senior guard Cam Adderley battled his to a 10-point, 9-rebound effort. Junior forward Abiodun Adegoke had six points and 11 rebounds in just 13 minutes off of the bench. MSU out-boarded A&M-Commerce by a 52-27 margin to account for a 16-2 edge in second-chance points.
 
BEST IN TEXAS
Midwestern State has won more games than any other four-year program in the State of Texas since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Mustangs boasts a 141-36 mark (.797) during the stretch which includes five NCAA Division II postseason showings while advancing to the Elite Eight in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Midwestern also claimed Lone Star Conference championships in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
 
BLACKBURN IS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Midwestern State senior forward Xavier Blackburn garnered Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors last week after averaging 16.0 points and 12.5 rebounds a game. The 6-4 forward from New Iberia, La. recorded his first double-double of the season finishing with 17 points and 16 rebounds Wednesday against Oklahoma Wesleyan. The rebounds were the second most by an LSC player this season and the most for an MSU player since Corbin Thomas had 18 against Texas A&M-Commerce last February. Blackburn closed the week with a 15-point, 9-rebound effort Saturday at A&M-Commerce. He is averaging 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last four outings.
 
GLASS EATERS
Midwestern State won the battle on the glass for the sixth time in its last seven games claiming a +25 margin Saturday over Texas A&M-Commerce. It was the third time this season the Mustangs recorded a +20 rebounding edge with the other two coming against Missouri Western and Science & Arts (Okla.). MSU ranks second in the LSC with a +7.4 season rebounding margin despite having no one player grab more than 6.0 rebounds a game. The Mustangs top the league with 15.0 offensive rebounds a game and are second in defensive (.728) and offensive (.382) rebounding percentage.
 
MSU UNDER NELSON HAGGERTY
Nelson Haggerty is in his third year as head coach of the Mustangs. He boasts a 60-17 mark (.779) while leading MSU to a pair of Lone Star Conference titles. The Mustangs advanced the Elite Eight in 2012 before falling to Metro State in the South Central Region finals last season. Haggerty served the previous two seasons as the top assistant at Midwestern as the Mustangs rolled to the Elite Eight in each of those campaigns.
 
MSU IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Midwestern State dropped out of the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 released on Dec. 31. The Mustangs carried a ranking for the first six reporting periods reaching as high as No. 6. MSU has carried a national ranking at some point during each of the last five seasons.
 
IN THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE
- No. 9 Tarleton State (11-0) extended its best start under Lonn Reismann to 11-0 with a 79-68 win over South Dakota Mines last week. The Texans open LSC play Wednesday night against Angelo State before playing its first true road contest of the season Saturday at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- Texas A&M-Commerce (11-2, 0-1) suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday against Midwestern State which came after a 17-day layoff for the holidays. The Lions play host to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Wednesday before hitting the road to face Angelo State on Saturday.
- Angelo State (10-2) scored an exhibition upset of UTEP (75-70) last week. The Rams, who were coming off of back-to-back road losses to Arkansas Tech and Arkansas-Monticello, open LSC play Wednesday night at No. 9 Tarleton State before playing host to Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday.
- West Texas A&M (7-4) shook the holiday rust off with an 85-65 win over Hillsdale Baptist last week and has now won six of their last eight. The Buffs open LSC play Wednesday night against Midwestern State before hitting the road to face Cameron Saturday in Lawton.
- Cameron (6-5) has won three of its last four after edging South Dakota Mines 55-53 Sunday at Aggie Gym. CU opens league play Wednesday at Eastern New Mexico before playing host to West Texas A&M on Saturday.
- Eastern New Mexico (6-5) came out of the break with road wins at South Dakota Mines and Johnson & Wales (S.D.) last week. The Greyhounds open LSC play Wednesday against Cameron in Portales before traveling to face Midwestern State on Saturday.
- Texas A&M-Kingsville (5-7) returns from a 21-day holiday hiatus to open league play Wednesday at Texas A&M-Commerce before hitting the road to take on No. 9 Tarleton State. The Hoggies claimed wins over Schreiner and Texas Lutheran heading into the break.
 
THREE...DOT...THOUGHTS....
Midwestern State split a pair of games last week falling to Oklahoma Wesleyan before taking its Lone Star Conference opener at Texas A&M-Commerce... The loss against Oklahoma Wesleyan snapped MSU's 48-game winning streak against non-NCAA Division I/II competition dating back to the 1997-98 season... The Mustangs claimed a win in its third straight LSC opener with an 84-73 victory at Texas A&M-Commerce... MSU is now 10-8 in LSC lid lifters since joining the conference prior to the 1996-97 season including a 7-6 mark in openers away from D.L. Ligon Coliseum... Interestingly, the Mustangs have played their LSC opener on the road in 13 of its 18 seasons in the conference... The win over Texas A&M-Commerce was MSU's 60th with Nelson Haggerty at the helm... Senior guard Monzaigo Williams posted his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 assists Saturday at Texas A&M-Commerce. He recorded 14 points and 10 assists last season at Ouachita Baptist... Williams has scored in double figures in 14 straight games dating back to last season... Senior forward Eddie D'Haiti banged in two 3-pointers to finish with eight points and seven rebounds Saturday at A&M-C... Senior guard DeJuan Plummer splashed in a career-best five 3-pointers to match a career-high with 21 points Saturday at Texas A&M-Commerce... Junior forward Tavarion Nix had a season-high 11 points to go along with seven rebounds and four blocks Wednesday against Oklahoma Wesleyan... Junior forward Xavier Blackburn erupted for his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 rebounds with two blocks and a steal Wednesday against Oklahoma Wesleyan... Blackburn followed with a 15-point, 9-rebound effort Saturday at A&M-C... Senior guard Cam Adderley posted a season-high nine rebounds in each of his last two games... Junior forward Abiodun Adegoke posted season highs with six points and 11 rebounds in 13 minutes Saturday at A&M-C...
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Midwestern State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum to take on Eastern New Mexico in Lone Star Conference play on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.