Midwestern State vs. Colorado State-Pueblo
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (3-0); Colorado State-Pueblo (2-1)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Video: Mustangs Digital Network (PPF) 
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free) 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com 
 
ON THE COURT
Midwestern State and Colorado State-Pueblo complete a home-and-home series Tuesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. or 25 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game which tips at 5:30.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES
- Colorado State-Pueblo opened the season with a pair of wins over Texas A&M International (83-79) and Texas-Permian Basin (96-90) before taking an 88-72 loss to Midwestern State Thursday night in Pueblo.
- Chris Golden, a senior transfer guard from Weber State, knocked down 15-of-22 shots from beyond the arc in season opening wins over Texas A&M International and Texas-Permian Basin then was held a 2-of-12 shooting night going 2-of-9 from 3-point range against MSU.
- Golden carries averaged of 23.7 points and 1.7 assists per game into Tuesday return game with Midwestern State.
- Sophomore guard Josh Smith hit a pair of triples on his way to 11 points Thursday against MSU, while fellow sophomore Will Newman was 4-for-7 with a 3-pointer for a matching team-high 11 points.
- Junior 6-9 transfer center Nelson Kahler (Eastern Wyoming) averages 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Thunderwolves. He was held to nine points and five boards by the Mustangs.
- Ralph Turner owns a 66-49 (.574) in his fifth season at Colorado State-Pueblo. Turner won 362 games in 15 years at Union (Tenn.) with a stellar .706 winning percentage.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State meets Colorado State-Pueblo for the sixth time on the hardwood Tuesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Mustangs own a 3-2 lead in the series after taking an 88-72 win over CSU-P Thursday night at Massari Arena in Pueblo.
- MSU won the only other meeting between the teams at D.L. Ligon Coliseum rolling to a 68-57 win on Nov. 23, 2014 in Wichita Falls.
- The Mustangs are gunning for their third straight win over a team from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after taking victories over CSU-Pueblo and Adams State last weekend in Colorado.
 
MUSTANGS NOTEBOOK
- Midwestern State improved to 3-0 with a pair of road wins over Colorado State-Pueblo and Adams State (Colo.).
- The Mustangs have won the opening three games of the year in four of five seasons with Nelson Haggerty at the helm.
- Haggerty claimed his 100th career victory in his third game of his fifth season as head coaches winning 100 of his first 133 games (.752).
- Midwestern faced its first deficit of the season Saturday at Adams State trailing the Grizzlies by 14 with 4:16 to play in the first half before rallying for a 95-87 win.
- The Mustangs boast five players averaging in double figures three games into the year including Jordan Stevens (22.3), Bretson McNeal (13.3), Sheldon Hagigal (12.7), Hershell Grant (12.3) and Khapri Alston (12.3).
- MSU outrebounded the opposition by 13 rebounds a game in wins over Colorado State-Pueblo and Adams State.
- Senior guard Jordan Stevens erupted for a season-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting with three 3-pointers in a 95-87 win over Adam State on Saturday.
- Stevens has scored 20-or-more points in two out of three games this season.
- Senior forward Khapri Alston averaged 13.5 points over the weekend shooting 70.6 percent from the field (12-of-17) with a double-double versus Colorado State-Pueblo (10 points, 11 rebounds) before going for 17 points and seven rebounds at Adams State.
- Senior guard Hershell Grant scored in double figures in each of his first three games this season while shooting 72.2 percent from the field (13-of-18).
- Junior guard Sheldon Hagigal is providing instant offense off of the bench scoring in double figures in each of his three games scoring 11 points in each game over the weekend against Colorado State-Pueblo and Adams State.
- Junior forward Trevor Fuller is averaging 3.0 blocked shots per game this season and is 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the field.
 
THE HAGGERTY ERA
- Nelson Haggerty is in his fifth season at the helm for Midwestern State as one of the top young coaches in college basketball.
- Haggerty boasts a 100-30 mark (.769) leading the Mustangs to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of his campaigns at the helm and to  Lone Star Conference championships in each of his first three seasons as head coach.
- Haggerty earned NABC South Central Region and Lone Star Conference coach of the year honors in his rookie season of 2011-12 piloting the Mustangs to their third consecutive Elite Eight showing.
- With Haggerty on the bench (including two seasons as top assistant), MSU has advanced to three Elite Eights (2010, 2011, 2012) and to the NCAA Division II postseason six consecutive years.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
- Midwestern State travels to Evansville, Indiana to compete in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic on Friday and Saturday.
- The Mustangs take on No. 4 Bellarmine (Ky.) Friday at 5:15 p.m. before battling host Southern Indiana Saturday at 7:30 p.m.