MIDWESTERN STATE VS. EASTERN N.M.
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (13-11, 6-9); Eastern New Mexico (10-14, 4-10)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Watch: Mustangs Digital Network 
Listen:  Mustangs Digital Network 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com  
 
MIDWESTERN STATE VS. WESTERN N.M.
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 | 4 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (13-11, 6-9); Western New Mexico (2-20, 0-14)
Watch: Mustangs Digital Network 
Listen:  Mustangs Digital Network 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com  
 
ON THE COURT
Midwestern State closes out the home portion of its schedule with a pair of Lone Star Conference matchups. The Mustangs take on Eastern New Mexico Thursday night before battling Western New Mexico for Senior Day on Saturday.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1- Midwestern State can clinch a spot in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament with a win over Eastern New Mexico on Thursday.
2- Scenarios remain for MSU to reach as high as the No. 4 seed in the LSC Postseason Tournament if the Mustangs win the final three games of the regular season.
3- Ten of MSU's 11 losses have come by single digits and four have been by five-or-fewer points. The Mustangs' lone double-digit defeat came 72-61 at Texas A&M-Commerce.
4- Midwestern State has suffered its first five-game skid since the 2002-03 season and has lost seven of eight games for the first time since 1997-98. MSU last lost six consecutive games in 1989-90 and dropped eight of nine to open the 1988-89 campaign.
5- Midwestern State is riding a nine-game winning streak over Eastern New Mexico in games played at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Hounds last win came 86-81 on Jan. 25, 2007. Overall, the Mustangs have won 20 of the last 21 against ENMU.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
 
TEAM NOTES
* Midwestern State has held a lead in every game this season.
* During the Mustangs' current five-game skid, MSU has held at least a 5-point lead in the second half and let a pair of 11-point leads after the half get away at Angelo State and West Texas A&M.
* For the season, MSU had second-half leads in nine of 11 losses and were tied after intermission in another.
* The Mustangs' average margin in losses is six points dropping three games by three points or less, two by 4-6 points and five by 7-9 points. Texas A&M-Commerce handed the Mustangs their only double-digit loss of the season (72-61) on Dec. 3 in Commerce.
* The Mustangs are 2-4 this season against teams ranked in the NABC Division II Poll after falling to No. 19 UT-Permian Basin last week.
* Midwestern State remains one of the best at forcing turnovers in all of NCAA Division II ranking 11th nationally forcing 17.96 per game. The Mustangs have forced at least 14 turnovers in 21 of 23 games this season.
* The Mustangs forced 20-or-more turnovers in eight games this season.
* Midwestern has scored 466 points off of 432 turnovers this season -- an average of 19.4 points per game.
* The Mustangs rank 27th in offensive rebounds per game (13.33), 28th in field goal percentage defense (41.3), 29th in turnover margin ( 3.1) and 37th in steals per game (8.1) in NCAA Division II.
* Midwestern State has committed the second fewest fouls in the Lone Star Conference, but rank 166th nationally with 458 in 24 games -- an average of 19.1 fouls per game.
 
PLAYER NOTES
#0- Junior guard Brandon Neel delivered 20 points in consecutive games last week going for 22 Thursday night at UT-Permian Basin and 21 Saturday at West Texas A&M. He shot 16-of-28 from the field (57.1 percent) with four 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Neel ranks fifth in the LSC during league play scoring 16.1 points per game.
#4- Junior guard Shawn Nottingham is averaging 8.3 points over his last three games on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8 percent) with a pair of 3-pointers. He had a string of nine consecutive games with two steals snapped Thursday at UT-Permian Basin before making two more Saturday at West Texas A&M. Nottingham ranks second in the LSC with 1.63 steals per game.
#10- Senior guard Pat Smith delivered his 16th double-figure effort Saturday at West Texas A&M finishing with 13 points and seven assists in 38 minutes. Smith has connected on three 3-pointers in four of his last five games going 13-for-33 from the arc (39.4 percent).
#14- Junior guard De'Quaan Haggerty appeared in his 13th game Saturday at West Texas A&M. He has accounted for 9 points this season hitting 3-pointers against St. Gregory's, Western New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico. He is the nephew of MSU coach Nelson Haggerty.
#20- Junior guard B.J. Jenkins has connected on a 3-pointer in each of his last eight games connecting at a 39.6-percent rate (19-of-48). He buried eight triples on his way to 28 points against Tarleton State, then notched his second double-figure game with 15 points last week at UT-Permian Basin.
#24- Sophomore forward Nemanja Krtolica scored four points and grabbed three rebounds Saturday at West Texas A&M to snap a five-game scoreless drought. Krtolica ranks 15th in the LSC with 42 offensive rebounds this season.
#32- Senior forward Magnus Richards' offensive production is solidly connected his ability to avoid foul trouble. Richards averages 12.5 points per game in his 12 games with fewer than four fouls. Richards scores 7.8 points a game when committing at least four fouls. Richards has tallied 10-or-more points in 11 games this season including a campaign-best 18 points against Western State (Colo.) and Eastern New Mexico. He is coming off of a 16-point, 8-rebound effort Saturday at West Texas A&M.
#33- Junior forward Igor Ibaka is second in the Lone Star Conference and ranks 11th in NCAA Division II with 12 double-doubles. He has 10 double-double efforts in his last 15 games. Ibaka is averaging a near double-double during LSC play with 13.7 points and is third in the league grabbing 9.7 boards a contest. Ibaka notched his second 20-point effort of the season connecting on 7-of-9 shots while going 10-for-12 from the line for 24 points at UT-Permian Basin.
#35- Junior forward Nick Powell scored in double figures four times this season including a career-high 20 points with eight rebounds against St. Gregory's on Dec. 16, 2016. Powell hit a 3-pointer in his return from missing three games due to injury Saturday at West Texas A&M.
 
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
* Eastern New Mexico has won three of its last five games to pull within a game in the loss column of Midwestern State for the eighth and final berth in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament.
* The Greyhounds' losses have come to LSC leaders UT-Permian Basin and Tarleton State -- by 2 in Stephenville -- during the five-game stretch.
* No one in NCAA Division II fouls more than the Greyhounds do. ENMU ranks 302nd of 302 in "fewest" fouls wearing out whistles to the tune of 581 calls in 24 games for an average of 24.2 per game.
* ENMU top scorers CoRnell Neal (14.5 ppg, 4.2 apg) and Marquise Harris (14.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg) combined for 42 points in the first matchup with Midwestern State. Neither has seen action in the last five games.
* Junior guard Joe Clarke is averaging 16.6 points over the last five games including a 21-point effort at Tarleton State.
* Junior guard Lamarquise Thompson has also picked up the slack over the last six games -- all double-digit efforts -- scoring 13.7 points per game with 4.7 boards.
* Tres Segler is in his first season at the helm of the Eastern New Mexico men's basketball program after spending the last seven campaigns as an assist at Midwestern State. Segler was on the bench for five of MSU's Lone Star Conference championship squads, seven NCAA tournament qualifiers as the Mustangs reached the Elite Eight in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
* Midwestern State and Eastern New Mexico meet for the 48th time on the hardwood Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* The Mustangs hold a 32-15 edge in the series which dates back to the 1948-49 season.
* MSU has won the last 11 meetings between the programs and 20 of the last 21 dating back to the 2006-07 season with ENMU's only win coming on Jan. 14, 2012 in Portales (80-72).
* The Mustangs are looking for their 10th consecutive home win over Eastern New Mexico Thursday night under the dome. The Greyhounds last win in Wichita Falls came on Jan. 25, 2007 (86-81).
* MSU has scored 100 points in each of its last three outings against ENMU. The Mustangs whipped the Hounds 110-62 on Feb. 13, 2016 in Portales, then routed them 112-68 on March 2, 2016 in the LSC quarterfinals in Allen. Midwestern survived for a 108-104 overtime victory earlier this season at Greyhound Arena.
 
LAST TIME VERSUS EASTERN NEW MEXICO
* Midwestern State overcame a 12-point deficit with 11:07 to go in regulation to force overtime, then outscored Eastern New Mexico 24-20 in a wild extra frame to win 108-104 on Jan. 14 in Portales.
* Junior forward Igor Ibaka delivered the LSC's only 20-20 effort of the season going for 28 points and 20 rebounds with two blocked shots and two steals.
* Senior guard Pat Smith erupted for a career-high 28 points on 6-of-11 shooting with four 3-pointers while going 12-of-13 from the free throw line.
* Senior forward Magnus Richards (18 points, 7 rebounds) and junior guard Brandon Neel (16 points) also notched double figures for the Mustangs.
* The Mustangs knocked down 39-of-52 free throws in the win which stand as the most made free throws by an MSU team since going 40-of-50 in an 83-75 win over Wayland Baptist on Jan. 30, 1993.
* Junior guard Marquise Harris knocked down seven 3-pointers for a season-high 26 points, while senior guard CoRnell Neal had 16 points and six assists off of the bench.
 
ABOUT THE WNMU MUSTANGS
* Western New Mexico has endured an 8-92 record (.080) since the start of the 2013-14 season.
* WNMU has lost their last 25 league games going 0-14 in their first year in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs dropped their last 11 games last season as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last winning 74-70 in overtime at home against Chadron State (Neb.) on Jan. 16, 2016.
* Western New Mexico ranks last in the Lone Star Conference in 18 of the 25 statistical categories listed by the NCAA. The Mustangs are dead last in assists per game (9.3) and field goal percentage (35.6 percent) and second to last 3-point field goal percentage (27.3) and total assists (205).
* Western New Mexico won its season opener against Oklahoma Panhandle State, which has no other win over a D2, lost 10 straight before beating NAIA Benedictine at Mesa on Dec. 30 and have dropped their last 10.
* Sophomore guard Jordan Enriquez paces WNMU averaging 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. The son of head coach Matt Enriquez, he has scored in double figures in each of his last five games averaging 14.6 points during the run which includes a 22-point effort against UT-Permian Basin.
* Sophomore guard Willie McCray (11.2 ppg for the season) has scored in double figures in each of his last six games going for 22 versus West Texas A&M during the stretch.
* Matt Enriquez is in his first season at the helm of the WNMU men's basketball program spending the last 14 seasons as a player and assistant coach in Silver City. Enriquez is a member of Western New Mexico's Athletic Hall of Fame scoring 1,591 points as a four-year letter winner from 2002-06. He was inducted in 2015.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
* Midwestern State and Western New Mexico meet for the ninth time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* The Mustangs have won each of the previous eight meetings in the series which dates back to the 1980-81 season.
* MSU's first meeting with Western New Mexico came in the opening round of the 1981 NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City. Midwestern rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to score a 56-55 win paced by Ted Brigham (13 points), Ricky Cobb (12 points) and Mike Ray (10 points, 4 rebounds).
* Midwestern State's 94-59 win over WNMU earlier this season marked the first time in 23 years the programs faced off.
* The Mustangs won the previous two meetings played in Wichita Falls taking a 69-67 victory on Feb. 6, 1993 and a 94-81 win on Feb. 5, 1994.
 
LAST TIME VERSUS WESTERN NEW MEXICO
* Senior forward Magnus Richards led five players in double figures as Midwestern State rolled to a 94-59 win over Western New Mexico on Jan. 12 in Silver City. It was one of three games this season that MSU never trailed.
* Junior forward Nick Powell (15 points), junior guard Brandon Neel (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), junior forward Igor Ibaka (12 points, 11 rebounds) and junior guard Shawn Nottingham (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) all chipped in double figures for Midwestern.
* Junior guard Devante Pullum dished out a team season high 12 assists in the final game of his campaign.
* C.J. Vanbeekum had 13 points off of the bench to pace Western New Mexico.
 
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 134-47 mark (.740) 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 closes the regular season Tuesday night at Cameron. Tipoff at Aggie Gym in Lawton is set for 7:30 p.m.