THE RUNDOWN
KINGSVILLE, Texas -- Midwestern State claimed its first Lone Star Conference win Saturday afternoon, beating Texas A&M-Kingsville 72-68 at the Steinke Physical Education Center.
 
The win not only improved MSU to 4-9 on the season, but also snapped a six-game road skid in league play moving to 1-3 in the Lone Star Conference loop.
 
"We wanted to end 2017 with a win," MSU coach Nelson Haggerty said. "This is a great job by our guys and getting better at the defensive end. I thought we did a great job tonight of guarding the ball at a high level and playing with a high level of energy."
 
Senior guard Brandon Neel delivered his second double-double of the season leading the Mustangs with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but it was backcourt mate Trey Kennedy who helped MSU grab the lead late in the opening half.
 
The Las Vegas native scored six of his 10 first-half point in the final six minutes going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe sandwiched around a layup putting the Mustangs up 34-27 with a pair of freebies 1:36 before half.
 
Kennedy finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting while going 5-of-6 from the free throw line for his second straight double-figure performance.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville rallied to take a brief lead (41-40) on Trey Sumpter's dunk at the 15:18 mark of the second half.
 
The Mustangs held TAMUK to a 36.5-percent shooting night allowing MSU to push the advantage out to nine points on a pair of Wanaah Bail free throws with 36 seconds to go for a 69-60 lead.
 
"Our guys came back from Christmas focused," Haggerty said. "We're still in this race and now we're headed for our biggest road trip of the season."
 
Senior guard Devante Pullum dropped in 14 points and dished out four assists while going a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, while Bail chipped in 12 points and five rebounds.
 
Cris Boulware scored 19 points off of the bench to lead Texas A&M-Kingsville, who fell to 9-4 and 2-1.
 
NOTES
- Midwestern State's last Lone Star Conference road win was a 108-104 overtime victory at Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 14, 2017.
- The Mustangs held a second opponent under 40 percent shooting by limiting the Javelinas to 36.5 percent. MSU held Rogers State to 36.2 percent shooting on Nov. 11th.
- MSU held a 28-13 edge in points off of turnovers.
- The Mustangs have shot 75 percent or better in each of their last six games and connected on a season-high 28 charity tosses against Texas A&M-Kingsville in 34 attempts (82.4 percent).
- Senior guard Brandon Neel scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and for the 10th time this season finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season after going for 26 points and 10 rebounds against Colorado Mesa on Nov. 17th.
- Junior forward Wanaah Bail delivered his third double-figure performance of the season going for 12 points and five rebound in 18 minutes.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on 11th-ranked West Texas A&M Thursday night at First United Bank Center in Canyon. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.