GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — No. 20 Midwestern State turned up the defensive pressure and pounded the glass to beat Colorado Mesa 74-57 in the finale of the Holiday Inn-Airport Thanksgiving Classic Saturday night at Brownson Arena.

"This was pretty close to a conference environment tonight on the road with a responsive crowd," MSU coach Nelson Haggerty said. "This was our best defensive effort of the year against a team that moves the ball very well."

Midwestern (6-1) looks to carry the momentum into its Lone Star Conference opener Thursday night at Tarleton State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Wisdom Gym.

The Mustangs pounded CMU on the glass by a 50-37 margin led by Igor Ibaka's second double-double of the season finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Defensively, MSU hounded the Mavericks into a 35.6-percent shooting putting the cap on Colorado Mesa leading scorer C.J. Davis. The transfer from Tennessee-Martin did lead the Mavs with 12 points but went 4-of-15 from the field and 3-for-12 from the arc.

Senior guard Pat Smith poured in a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers and four steals to pace a balanced MSU attack.

Junior guard Brandon Neel ignited a 12-0 run by scoring seven of his 10 points late in the first half as the Mustangs turned a 20-17 deficit into a 29-20 advantage on Shawn Nottingham's steal and layup with 1:51 left until halftime.

MSU seized a double digit lead when Sheldon Hagigal buried a triple from the top of the key to cap a 7-0 run at the start of the second half at 39-28 with 17:40 to go.

The Mustangs would lead by double figures the rest of the way.

Hagigal drilled three 3-pointers off to tally 13 points off of the bench to give MSU its fourth player in double figures.

Colorado Mesa dropped to 1-5 on the season.