THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS -- Devante Pullum scored a team-high 16 points and dished out seven assists as Midwestern State piled up plenty of positive statistics against rival Tarleton State Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
The senior guard was also the ringleader producing half of MSU's steals as the Mustangs put produced 22 points off of the Texans' 17 turnovers leading to a 10-4 edge in fast break points. Pullum also played a hand in holding LSC leading scorer Corinthian Ramsey without a field goal.
 
The Mustangs hustled for 20 offensive rebounds, but in the end it was bad shooting night that sealed a third consecutive as Tarleton claimed the Lone Star Conference opener 73-59 in front of 1,475 fans.
 
MSU shot a season low 31.2 percent in what was also a season-low scoring output as the Mustangs fell to 2-6 on the season.
 
Behind a 22-point, 11-board performance by sophomore Josh Hawley, Tarleton State shot 63.6 percent from the field in the second half to pull away after the teams battled through a tightly contested opening half.
 
The Texans scored the first eight points of the second half to push the lead to double digits after Nosa Ebomwonyi followed an Anthony Davis 3-pointer with a driving layup for a 38-27 lead 3 1/2 minutes after the intermission.
 
Midwestern pulled back to within eight points on a Charles Callier 3-pointer with 15:17 to go, but it would get no closer as the Texans would lead by as many as 16 points.
 
Senior forward Nick Powell scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds in 23 minutes off of the bench, while senior guard Brandon Neel notched seven points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes.
 
NOTES
- Midwestern State lost for the fourth consecutive time against the Texans which matches TSU's longest winning streak in its series against the Mustangs. MSU still holds a 47-30 overall edge.
- Senior Devante Pullum scored in double figures for the third consecutive game. He is shooting 47.5 percent (16-for-34) during the stretch with four 3-pointers.
- Pullum set season highs with seven assists and six steals against the Texans.
- Senior Nick Powell matched a season high with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting with a 3-pointer. The Henrietta native also scored 11 in the season opener against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
- The Mustangs put the clamps on LSC leading scorer Corinthian Ramsey limiting the 5-10 guard to an 0-for-4 shooting night and didn't score until he hit one of two shots from the charity stripe in the game's final minute. Ramsey came in averaging 25.2 points per game.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on unbeaten Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Reggie Reid's jumper with 8 seconds to go lifted the Lions to a 69-68 win over Cameron Thursday night at Aggie Gym as the A&M-C improved to 6-0 under first-year coach Jaret von Rosenberg.