WICHITA FALLS, Texas – It lived up to the hype with No. 4/2 Midwestern State and No. 6/10 Tarleton State coming down to the wire before the Mustangs came away with a 66-63 victory in a top-10 showdown between two longtime foes Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Midwestern State (14-1, 3-0 LSC) looked to be in full control in the final minute of action with a 63-56 lead before a three-point play and a technical foul resulted in Tarleton State (13-3, 3-1 LSC) trimming its deficit down to 63-60 with 29 seconds to play.

A fastbreak layup by senior guard Hershell Grant gave the Mustangs a five-point advantage with 11 seconds remaining before TSU senior guard Charles Hill drained a triple for a two-point contest with five seconds left on the clock.

Senior guard Bretson McNeal, who led the Mustangs with 15 points on the night, hit 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to extend the MSU lead up to three. A last-second three-point attempt by sophomore guard Deshawn Riddick missed the mark and the Mustangs walked away with the 66-63 win to remain undefeated in Lone Star Conference play.

It remained a one-possession game until the 12:29 mark in the first half when Tarleton went ahead 14-9 after a basket by senior guard Malcolm Hamilton. The Mustangs answered with a 7-0 run to move in front at 16-14 after a pair of free throws from senior guard Jordan Stevens midway through the opening period.

The Texans took their largest lead of the first half with just under five minutes to play at 29-22 following two free throws from Riddick. However, the Mustangs pulled closer before evening the game at 33 apiece with 1:25 to play after a Stevens triple. Stevens then put the Mustangs ahead in the final seconds of the period, hitting 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for a 34-33 halftime score.

Tarleton connected on three-straight baskets from behind the arc to open the second period to force an MSU timeout with a 42-34 lead less than two minutes into the half. The Texans followed by taking their largest lead of the game after a layup by junior forward Romond Jenkins made it 46-36 with 16:46 to play.

The Texans went scoreless for nearly nine minutes as Midwestern slowly trimmed away at its deficit before a jumper by sophomore forward Nick Powell gave the Mustangs their first lead since the opening minute of the second half at 47-46 with 9:09 to play.

Tarleton would see its last lead of the game on the ensuing possession as McNeal dropped 10 of his 15 points in the final 7:16 of action to propel the Mustangs to victory.

Stevens and junior guard Pat Smith joined McNeal in double figures with 11 points apiece. In addition to recording a career high in scoring, Smith also led the Mustangs with a team-best four assists. Senior post Khapri Alston posted a career-high 14 boards with five coming on the offensive end.

For Tarleton, Hill led the way with 25 points, going 10-of-10 from the charity stripe, while senior forward E.J. Reed contributed 18 points and 10 boards.

Midwestern finished the night shooting 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the floor while limiting the Texans to a 35.8 percentage (19-of-53). The Mustangs netted 23 points off 17 Tarleton turnovers while committing 13 miscues.

The Texans led the rebounding edge, 42-31.

Midwestern State continues LSC play Saturday with a trip to Texas A&M-Commerce for a 6 p.m. tip at the A&M-Commerce Field House.