THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS – Midwestern State made crucial free throws down the stretch to secure an 89-79 win over Western New Mexico on Thursday. The Mustangs went 27-of-32 (84.4 percent) from the free throw line to improve to 5-11 on the season and 2-5 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
MSU dominated WNMU from the field in the first half to take a 40-29 lead into the locker room at the intermission. The Maroon and Gold held the Mustangs to just 28.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but gave up 14 points at the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Western New Mexico opened the second half on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three in the first two minutes, but MSU responded with an 8-1 run of its own over a 31 second span to push the advantage back to double-digits.
 
Over the next 10 minutes, the Mustangs from New Mexico would rally to close the gap and tie the game at 68 with 8:15 to go and even took the lead for 32 seconds with five minutes to go.
 
MSU would take the lead for good on a Brandon Neel layup with 3:59 to play and close out the game on a 15-5 run over the final four minutes. The Maroon and Gold went 7-for-9 from the charity stripe over that span to secure the victory.
 
Neel led all players with 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Logan Hicks added 19 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Nick Powell tacked on 12 points and five boards while senior guard Devante Pullum had 11 points and senior forward Josh Huntley put up 10 points in 13 minutes of action.
 
Western New Mexico fell to 3-12 overall and 0-6 in LSC action. Junior guard Jordan Enriquez led the Mustangs with 15 points while Latrell Spivey (14 points), Davis Wade (13 points) and Willie McCray (10 points) all scored in double figures.

NOTES
- Midwestern State improved to 5-11 on the season and 2-5 in Lone Star Conference action. The Mustangs climbed back to .500 at home, moving to 2-2 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- MSU went 27-of-32 (84.4 percent) from the free throw line. It was the second-most makes and attempts from the charity stripe by the Mustangs this season, behind only the 28-for-34 mark set against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 30.
- The Maroon and Gold limited WNMU in the first half to just seven makes and 28.0 percent shooting.
- The Mustangs shot 43.1 percent from the field, marking the ninth time this season MSU has gone above 40 percent.
- Midwestern State converted 18 turnovers into 14 points.
- MSU won the battle on the glass for the fifth-time this season, outrebounding WNMU 42-37. The Mustangs improved to 3-2 when winning the rebounding battle.
- The Maroon and Gold owned a 16-4 edge in the fastbreak, but were outscored in the paint, 46-34.
- Senior guard Brandon Neel led the team with 21 points, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. Thursday marked the fifth-time this season the Cincinnati native eclipsed 20 points and the eighth-straight game he's been in double-figures. His seven makes from the free throw line matched a season-high, previously set on Nov. 17 against Colorado Mesa.
- Sophomore guard Logan Hicks matched a season-high with 19 points. The Temple product also scored 19 against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Nov. 10. Thursday was the 12^th-time this season Hicks scored in double-figures.
- Senior forward Josh Huntley scored in double-figures for the first time since Dec. 19 against Southern Indiana when he went for 16. He went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, all season-highs, in just 13 minutes of action before fouling out.

UP NEXT
Midwestern State is back in action at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 13 against Eastern New Mexico. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.