Midwestern State vs. Science & Arts (Okla.)
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015 | 6 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (9-1); Science & Arts (Okla.) (6-3)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Video: Mustangs Digital Network (PPV) 
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free) 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com 
 
ON THE COURT
Midwestern State returns from the holiday break to take on Science & Arts (Okla.) on New Year's Eve at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE DROVERS
- Science & Arts (Okla.) plays its third of four exhibition games this season Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. All are against NCAA Division II competition.
- The Drovers lost to West Texas A&M (93-58) and Dallas Baptist (96-79) earlier this season and take on MSU on Thursday before traveling to take on Arkansas Tech on Saturday.
- USAO boasts a 6-3 regular season after claiming an 86-79 win over St. Gregory's in its Sooner Athletic Conference opener last time out on Dec. 5. St. Gregory's is Midwestern's opponent on Saturday, Jan. 2.
- Junior guard Taran Buie ranks fifth in NAIA Division I in scoring at 23.6 points per game. Buie poured in at least 20 points in six of nine outings including a season high of 38 points against Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) on Nov. 25.
- Buie was a four-star recruit out of Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, N.Y. who originally signed with Penn State and averaged 12.4 points per game as a sophomore at Hofstra in 2013-14.
- Senior guard David Tucker drops in 15.2 points per game knocking down 50 percent of his tries for 3-point range (21-of-42).
- Richard McCalop, a senior transfer forward from Southwestern Oklahoma, scores 12.5 points and pulls down a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.
- Junior Brendan Chapman pitches in 11.1 points per game while pulling down 5.8 rebounds a contest. The 6-4 forward shoots 63.1 percent from the field.
- Senior guard Charles Mickens scores 10.4 points a game and ranks 11th in NAIA Division I dishing out 5.4 assists.
- Chris Francis is in his first season at the helm of the USAO men's basketball program.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State meets Science & Arts (Okla.) for the 22nd time on the hardwood Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Mustangs own a 14-7 edge in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season and have won the last five meetings -- all played in Wichita Falls.
- The teams play for the third consecutive season and for the fourth in the last five seasons. The Mustangs' average margin of victory in those games is 15.7 points.
- MSU is 9-3 all-time against the Drovers at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. USAO's last win under the dome came by a 77-69 count on Feb. 22, 1994.
- The Drovers' last win over Midwestern State was a 97-89 decision on Nov. 29, 1995 in Chickasha.
 
MUSTANGS NOTEBOOK
- Midwestern State (9-1) is off to its best start since winning its first 13 games in 2011-12.
- The Mustangs have won at least nine of their first 10 games for the ninth time in program history. MSU improved to 10-1 in all but one of those seasons.
- The season is the fourth time since the start of the 2009-10 campaign that Midwestern has won at least nine of its first 10 games.
- Senior guard Bretson McNeal was held under 10 points for the first time in six games last time out against Ouachita Baptist.
- McNeal has knocked down a 3-pointer in all 10 games this season and is shooting 46.3 percent from beyond the arc.
- Senior guard Brandon Golden scored seven points in 21 minutes off of then bench at Ouachita Baptist accounting for five of those points at the charity stripe.
- Junior guard Sheldon Hagigal scored in double figures for the fifth time this season finishing with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three 3-pointers at Ouachita Baptist.
- Hagigal's three triples were a season and he's knocked six of his last 11 from distance over the last three games.
- Senior guard Hershell Grant knocked down 3-of-4 shots from the field to finish with nine points and six rebounds in 20 minutes against Ouachita Baptist. It was Grant's highest scoring output since finishing with 12 points at Adams State on Nov. 21.
- Junior guard Pat Smith booked a season-high nine points hitting a clutch 3-pointer in the closing minutes of a 2-point win at Ouachita Baptist.
- Junior forward Trevor Fuller blocked a season-high five shots and added three steals against Ouachita Baptist. Fuller has accounted for a blocked shot in all 10 games for MSU this season and is averaging 2.9 per game.
- Senior guard Jordan Stevens suffered through his worst shooting night of the season (2-for-11) at Ouachita Baptist but did connected on a pair of 3-pointers to finish with seven points.
- Senior forward Khapri Alston was limited to a season-low six points against Ouachita Baptist, but came up big to hit the game winning layup in the closing seconds. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds in the victory.
- Senior forward DeVaughn Jones scored in double figures for the third time in the last four games finishing with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting against Ouachita Baptist. Jones also pulled down six rebounds and had a season-high three steals.
 
MSU IN THE POLLS
- Midwestern State claimed its first No. 1 ranking as an NCAA Division II member moving overtaking West Liberty (W. Va.) for the top spot in the D2 Media Poll released on Dec. 22.
- The Mustangs remain at No. 10 in the NABC Division II Top 25.
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
TEAM RANKINGS
- Rebound Margin -- 1st -- +12.0
- Blocked Shots Per Game -- 2nd -- 6.4
- Total Blocks -- 6th -- 64.0
- Field Goal Percentage Defense -- 6th -- 38.0
- Defensive Rebounds Per Game -- 13th -- 30.5
- Scoring Margin -- 14th -- 16.3
- Field Goal Percentage -- 27th -- 49.8
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
- Blocked Shots Per Game -- Trevor Fuller -- 7th -- 2.9
- Total Blocks -- Trevor Fuller -- 10th -- 29.0
- Free Throw Percentage -- Jordan Stevens -- 34th -- 89.7
- Field Goal Percentage -- Khapri Alston -- 36th -- 60.0
- 3-point Field Goal Percentage -- Bretson McNeal -- 43rd -- 46.3
- Offensive Rebounds Per Game -- Khapri Alston -- 43rd -- 3.2
 
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 106-31 mark (.774) 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 takes on St. Gregory's (Okla.) in its final non-conference game of the season Saturday night (Jan. 2) at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.