MIDWESTERN STATE AT ST. MARY'S
Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 | 6 p.m.
Bill Greehey Arena | San Antonio, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (12-5); St. Mary's (7-11)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Watch: RattlerAthletics.com
Listen: Mustangs Digital Network 
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com
 
ON THE COURT
Midwestern State plays its final non-conference game of the season Monday night against St. Mary's (Texas) at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1- Midwestern State's six-game winning streak was snapped in an 83-74 loss to Cameron Tuesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The streak was the longest since the Mustangs rolled up 13 consecutive victories from Nov. 27, 2015 through Jan. 23, 2016.
2- MSU faces St. Mary's for the second time this season in a game that was added after the beginning of the regular season via an exemption after the Mustangs competed in a conference challenge classic to open the season in Claremore, Okla.
3- The Mustangs are 7-1 against non-conference competition this season including a 2-1 mark against the Heartland Conference. The lone loss came to St. Mary's (72-70) in the finale of the Patterson Auto Center Classic on Nov. 19 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
4- Midwestern State is 6-3 against competition from the Heartland Conference during the Nelson Haggerty era (since 2011). Two of the losses came to St. Mary's -- both in the regular season -- while Lubbock Christian defeated the Mustangs in the opening round of the 2016 South Central Regional.
5- The Mustangs boast a 50-13 mark in non-conference games since the start of the Nelson Haggerty in 2011-12.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
 
TEAM NOTES
* Cameron sent Midwestern State to its fourth Lone Star Conference loss Tuesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs have not lost more than four league games since dropping five during the 2010-11 season. That was the only time MSU lost more than four LSC games over the last nine seasons.
* The Mustangs are 6-2 in games played away from D.L. Ligon Coliseum this season including a 4-2 mark in true road games.
* Midwestern has allowed the opposition to shoot better than 50 percent from the field in each of the last two games as Eastern New Mexico and Cameron combined to connected on 65-of-128 shots (50.8 percent) including shooting at a 47.2-percent clip from the arc (25-of-53).
* MSU managed 74 points against Cameron which snapped a run of four consecutive games that the Mustangs tallied at least 80 points.
* Midwestern State remains one of the best at forcing turnovers in all of NCAA Division II ranking 12th nationally forcing 18.18 per game. The Mustangs have forced at least 14 turnovers in 15 of 17 games this season.
* Midwestern has scored 348 points off of 310 turnovers this season -- an average of 20.5 points per game.
* The Mustangs rank 19th in offensive rebounds per game (14.06), 22nd in field goal percentage defense (40.4) and 27th in turnover margin (+3.5) in NCAA Division II.
 
PLAYER NOTES
#0- Junior guard Brandon Neel scored in double figures for the 11th consecutive game matching a season high for a third time with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two 3-pointers Tuesday against Cameron. Neel leads in MSU during league play pouring in 16.8 points per game to go along with 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists a contest.
#4- Junior guard Shawn Nottingham scored 15 of his season-high 17 points before halftime Tuesday night against Cameron going 5-of-8 from the field and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe. Nottingham, who has double figures in two of his last three games, has 10 steals over last four games.
#10- Senior guard Pat Smith extended his 3-point streak to 11 games canning a triple to finish with seven points Tuesday against Cameron. Smith poured in a career-high 28 points on 6-of-11 shooting with four 3-pointers while going 12-of-13 from the line on Jan. 14 at Eastern New Mexico.
#14- Junior guard De'Quaan Haggerty appeared in his third consecutive game playing two minutes Tuesday against Cameron. Haggerty connected on 3-pointers in wins over Western New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico on MSU's previous road swing.
#20- Junior guard B.J. Jenkins has appeared in two games since transferring at the semester. The 5-11, 170-pound guard is 3-of-11 from the field with a 3-pointer averaging 3.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.0 rebound a game.
#24- Sophomore forward Nemanja Krtolica was limited to a point and two rebounds Tuesday against Cameron, but had nine offensive rebounds in a three-game stretch coming into the game against UT-Permian Basin, Western New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico.
#32- Senior forward Magnus Richards was held to a season-low two points and four rebounds in 24 minutes Tuesday against Cameron. It snapped a stretch of scoring at least nine points over a six-game stretch from Dec. 16-Jan. 14. Richards averaged 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds a game during the run.
#33- Junior forward Igor Ibaka boasts the 10th most double-doubles in NCAA Division II at nine. Ibaka has point-rebound double-doubles in his last three games and in seven of the last eight. He is second in the LSC during league play pulling down 10.2 rebounds a game. Ibaka is averaging 13.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game during loop play.
#35- Junior forward Nick Powell has knocked down six of his last 10 shots from 3-point range over the last three games. He is averaging 10.0 points on 11-of-18 shooting (61.1 percent) over his last three contests.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
* St. Mary's broke out of a six-game slide by winning five of its seven and three of its last four after beating Oklahoma Panhandle State and Newman (Kan.) over the weekend at Bill Greehey Arena.
* The Rattlers end a seven-of-nine stretch on their home floor Monday night against Midwestern State. St. Mary's is 5-5 at Bill Greehey Arena this season.
* St. Mary's is the Heartland Conference top offensive rebounding team standing 76th nationally with 12.35 offensive boards per game. The Rattlers, however, rank at the bottom of the league in free throw percentage (66.0), scoring offense (68.4), steals per game (5.0) and opponent 3-point percentage (38.0).
* Sophomore forward Yanni Wetzel paces the Rattlers averaging 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game shooting 51.7 percent from the field. The Auckland, New Zealand native notched his third 20-point game of the season Saturday going for a campaign-best 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting notching his fifth double-double with 12 rebounds.
* Junior guard Will Ferguson joins Wetzel in double figures dropping in 12.2 points per game while leading the Heartland Conference in assists at 4.6 a game. The Howard College transfer boast three 20-point outbursts this season going for 33 against Oklahoma Christian, 26 versus Colorado Mines and 20 against Rogers State.
* Jim Zeleznak boasts a 194-141 record (.579) in his 12th season at the helm of the St. Mary's men's basketball program. The two-time Heartland Conference Coach of the Year (2010, 2015) has led the Rattlers to four NCAA Division II tournament appearances. He was an assistant coach on Buddy Meyer's staff for St. Mary's 1989 NAIA national championship squad and coached the Rattlers' softball program to a national title in 1986.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
* Midwestern State meets St. Mary's for the 32nd time on the hardwood Monday night at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio.
* St. Mary's owns a slim 16-15 edge in the series which dates back to the 1974-75 season.
* The Mustangs have won seven of the last 10 against St. Mary's dating back to the 2001-02 season, but the Rattlers have two of the last three including a 72-70 victory earlier this season at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* Midwestern State has won one time in 11 trips to San Antonio to take on St. Mary's. The Mustangs thumped St. Mary's 89-71 for the lone victory on Nov. 2009 at Greehey Arena.
* The Rattlers upset MSU 63-50 in its last trip to the River City on Nov. 30, 2014.
* Midwestern State is 1-3 all-time against St. Mary's since Bill Greehey Arena opened in 2000.

LAST TIME OUT VS. ST. MARY'S
* St. Mary's knocked down 75-percent of its first half shots and held on to upset 20th-ranked Midwestern State 72-70 in the finale of the Patterson Auto Center Classic on Nov. 19, 2016 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* The loss was MSU's first of the season as the Mustangs fell to 4-1.
* The Rattlers hit 10 of their first 11 shots to lead by as many as 12 points in the first half before MSU stormed back to get to within four at the half.
* Midwestern held a brief lead in the second half but never by more than two points.
* STMU sophomore forward Yanni Wetzell connected on 10-of-13 shots including all four of his 3-point tries to finish with 25 points and six rebounds.
* Junior guard Freddie Williams chipped in 19 points and eight rebounds, sophomore guard Skyler Brooks had 10 points and six rebounds and junior guard Will Ferguson dished out 11 assists for the Rattlers.
* Freshman Logan Hicks had 15 points to lead five Mustangs in double figures including junior forward Igor Ibaka (11 points, 4 rebounds), junior forward Nick Powell (11 points), senior forward Magnus Richards (10 points) and junior guard Brandon Neel (10 points, 3 assists).

 
THE HAGGERTY ERA
* Nelson Haggerty is in his sixth season at the helm for Midwestern State as one of the top young coaches in college basketball.
* Haggerty boasts a 133-41 mark (.764) leading the Mustangs to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of his campaigns at the helm and to  Lone Star Conference championships in four of his five 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. He repeated as LSC Coach of the Year while piloting the Mustangs to their fourth LSC title in his five seasons at head coach in 2016.
* 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.
* Haggerty was named HoopDirt.com Division II Coach of the Year on Jan. 10 after claiming wins over No. 11 West Texas A&M and UT-Permian Basin.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Midwestern State returns to Lone Star Conference play against rivals Texas A&M-Commerce Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Tarleton State Saturday afternoon at 4.