Midwestern State (4-9, 1-3) at #11 West Texas A&M (12-1, 2-1)
Lone Star Conference game
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.
First United Bank Center | Canyon, Texas
Live Stats: GoBuffsGo.com |
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM |
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network |
Video: GoBuffsGo.com
MUSTANGS NOTES
- Midwestern State begins a tough two-game stretch Thursday night against No. 11 West Texas A&M before taking on No. 8 UT Permian Basin Saturday afternoon in Odessa.
- The Mustangs claimed their first LSC road win last week taking a 72-68 result at Texas A&M-Kingsville to snap a six-game league road skid which dated back to a 108-104 overtime win at Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 14, 2017. MSU had won just once in their last 11 Lone Star Conference matchups before breaking out against Javelinas.
- Midwestern has won two of its last three coming back from 22 points down with 12 minutes to play to beat Rollins (81-79) in Las Vegas on Dec. 18th. The Mustangs had a 10-point lead over Southern Indiana in the Rollins Las Vegas Classic finale before falling 78-70.
- Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 23rd in NCAA Division II by forcing 17.62 turnovers per game and also tops the LSC in team steals per game with 9.2.
- MSU is second in the league in turnover margin at +3.54.
- The Mustangs average 20.5 points off of turnovers per game accounting for 25.4 percent of their total output.
- Midwestern tops the Lone Star Conference in offensive rebounds per game (12.69) while averaging 15.7 second-chance points a contest.
- Midwestern is fourth in the league in scoring at 81.5 points per game, but 10th in scoring defense allowing 86.6 points a game.
- MSU ranks 93rd in NCAA D2 in scoring at 80.8 points per game. The Mustangs have scored 80-or-more points in eight games this season.
- The Mustangs lead the LSC and 46th in NCAA D2 with a 75.0 team free throw percentage.
- MSU has held a lead in 12 of its 13 games this season. The Mustangs are 2-4 in games in which they held a lead of at least 10-or-more points this season.
- Senior guard Brandon Neel ranks sixth in the LSC and 126th in NCAA Division II in scoring at 17.6 points per game.
- Neel boasts 10 games with at least 10 points this season four games of 20-or-more. He poured in a season-high 30 points at Western State (Colo.), had 27 versus Southwestern Assemblies of God and 26 against Colorado Mesa. He poured in a team-high 24 points in MSU's win over Rollins on Dec. 18th.
- Neel tops MSU and is 11th in the LSC pulling down 6.2 rebounds per game.
- Neel notched his second double-double of the season scoring 19 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in a win at Texas A&M-Kingsville (12/30).
- Senior guard Devante Pullum ranks second in the LSC 4.9 assists per game and is fifth in steals per game with 1.6. The Little Elm High product has scored in double figures in six consecutive games from Nov. 24th-Dec. 18th including a campaign-best 26-point, 6-assists effort at Angelo State.
- Pullum is averaging 13.9 points, 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game over his last seven outings while shooting 44.8 percent from the field (39-of-87) to bring his season scoring average to 11.6 points per game.
- Pullum ranks third in the LSC in free throw percentage at 86.4 percent (38-of-44). He has made his last 11 free throws dating back to a miss at Angelo State on Dec. 7th. He is shooting 89.3 percent from the line (25-of-28) over his last nine games.
- Sophomore guard Logan Hicks ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game notching double-figures in each of MSU's first seven games this season. He had a season-high 19 points in the opener against Arkansas-Fort Smith. He is shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from the arc (25-for-69).
- Senior guard Trey Kennedy scores 10.1 points per game notching 10-or-more points in seven games including a season-best 25 points on 11-of-25 shooting against Western State on Nov. 18th. He put up performances of 17 points against Saint Leo and 14 versus Florida Southern at the Florida Southern Thanksgiving Classic.
- Kennedy has scored in double figures in each of his last two games going for 12 points against Southern Indiana and 13 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- Senior forward Nick Powell has scored at least eight points in seven games this season and is averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game.
- Powell buried his first five 3-pointers against Texas A&M-Commerce on Dec. 2nd to finish with a season-high 17 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.
- Powell connected on at least one triple in each in a five-game stretch (Nov. 30th-Dec. 19th) while shooting 11-of-20 (55 percent) from beyond the arc during the stretch before going 0-for-2 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- Senior forward Josh Huntley has scored in double figures five times this season including matching season bests of 16 against Western State (11/18) and Southern Indiana (12/19). He notched his lone double-double of the campaign with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Southwestern Assemblies of God (11/21).
- Junior forward Wanaah Bail poured in a season-high 18 points shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field while going 7-for-8 at the free throw line at Angelo State on Dec. 7th. He needed just 18 minutes of floor time to score 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting going 6-of-7 from the charity while pulling down five rebounds at Texas A&M-Kingsville (12/30).
- Sophomore guard Romello Walker has missed the last six games due to injury. Despite averaging 5.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, he possesses the top +/- statistics for MSU. The Mustangs have outscored the opposition by a total of 34 points in Walker's 85 minutes of court time for a +4.86 points per game average.
HIGHWAY 287 CHALLENGE CUP
- West Texas A&M leads the 2017-18 rendition of the Highway 287 Challenge Cup by a narrow 5-4 margin.
- Midwestern State earned points with a 1-0 overtime win in men's soccer on Sept. 14th in Canyon, a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Buffs on the volleyball court on Oct. 20th and two points with a 45-3 victory in football on Oct. 21.
- West Texas A&M posted points with a pair of wins in women's soccer, a volleyball win and had two points after edging MSU at the LSC Cross Country Championships.
- WT has claimed the Highway 287 Challenge Cup in three of the four since it was created in 2013-14.
VERSUS WEST TEXAS A&M
- Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 69th time on the hardwood Thursday night at First United Bank Center.
- The Buffs hold a 36-32 edge in the series which dates back to the 1947-48 season, but MSU has won the eight of the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2012-13 season. WT was victorious in the last meeting (80-74) on Feb. 11, 2017 in Canyon.
- West Texas A&M is 11-4 against the Mustangs on their home floor since First United Bank Center opened in 2002.
- No. 11 West Texas A&M has rolled off wins in their last four games after taking its lone loss of the season at UT Permian Basin (106-100) on Dec. 5th. The Buffs opened the campaign with eight consecutive wins.
- Nine of WT's 12 wins have been by double-figure margins. The Buffs lead the LSC and rank 14th in NCAA D2 in scoring margin winning by 11.5 points per game.
- West Texas A&M boasts a 27-game winning streak at First United Bank Center dating back to a 74-65 loss to Midwestern State on Jan. 6, 2016.
- WT's 27-game home court winning streak is the fifth longest in NCAA D2 behind Bellarmine (50), Northwest Missouri State (43), West Liberty (40) and Fairmont State (28).
- Midwestern State is 39-59 (.398) all time against nationally ranked opposition, but is 15-16 (.484) with Nelson Haggerty at the helm. The Mustangs, however, has dropped its last three against nationally ranked foes and five of the last six. MSU has lost its last four against nationally ranked opponents on the road dating back to a 78-76 victory at No. 10 Tarleton State on Jan. 14, 2015.
- West Texas A&M is led by its all-time leading scorer – senior David Chavlovich. The Arlington Bowie High School product leads the LSC and ranks 25th in NCAA Division II scoring 21.9 points per game while also pacing the league with 5.1 assists per game. With 2,047 points, Chavlovich is the second active career leader in NCAA D2 behind Northwest Missouri State's Justin Pitts (2,193 points). He has made 47 more 3-pointers than any other player in D2 over the last four seasons with 330.
- Senior guard Jordan Evans has scored in double figures in 12 of WT's 13 games this season. The NOC-Enid transfer rates fourth in the LSC scoring 17.8 points per game connecting at a 41.5-percent clip from 3-point range.
- Junior Ryan Quaid carries a career-best average of 15.4 points per game into Thursday night's game completing a double-double average with 10.8 boards per game. He notched double-doubles in each of his last three outings and has seven this season.
- Gaige Prim has proven to be one of the top freshmen in the LSC averaging 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds a game while shooting 54.7 percent from the field.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
