Midwestern State at Arkansas-Fort Smith
MSU Texas  (3-1), UAFS (2-2)
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018 | 5:30 p.m.
Stubblefield Center | Fort Smith, Ark.
Series tied at 2-2 | First game at Stubblefield Center | UAFS won last meeting 64-63 (11/10/18 in Wichita Falls)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM |  Audio: Mustangs Digital Network | Video: UAFortSmithLions.com | Live Stats: UAFortSmithLions.com
 
THE OPPONENT: Arkansas-Fort Smith is coming off of a 79-71 loss Saturday at Pittsburg State dropping the Lions to 2-2… Junior guard Tyler Williams lifted UAFS to a 64-63 victory over Midwestern State in the finale of the Nissan of Wichita Falls Conference Challenge at D.L. Ligon Coliseum after dropping the season opener 90-83 to Colorado State-Pueblo the night before… Senior guard Chris Crawford leads the Lions averaging 20 points and 4.5 assists per game… Crawford boasts top games of 26 points against Colorado State-Pueblo and 22 versus Pittsburg State… Junior guard Seth Hawley connects on 40.7 percent of his 3-point attempts and is second on the team scoring 12.8 points per game… Williams pitches in 12.3 points per game… UA-Fort Smith advanced to the South Central Regionals in four of the last five seasons… Justin Bailey is in his first season at the helm of his alma mater after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Lamar… Bailey helped UAFS to an NJCAA national title playing the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons before earning All-Heartland Conference honors at UT Permian Basin…
 
LAST TIME OUT: Junior guard Elijah Lee connected on three triples to notch a season-high 15 points as Midwestern State held off Adams State 75-71 Saturday to take two wins at Colorado State-Pueblo's Al Kaly Shrine Classic. Junior forwards Bishop Coulter (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Gilbert Thomas (12 points, 7 rebounds) were also in double figures. The Mustangs extended leads into double figures in each half before holding off a determined Adams State comeback effort led by John Dewey's 31-point, 10-rebound effort.
 
HAGGERTY IN HIS EIGHTH CAMPAIGN: Midwestern State boasts a 149-69 mark (.683) in Nelson Haggerty's eighth season as head coach. He has led the Mustangs to the NCAA postseason in five of his seven seasons including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2012 and four LSC championships in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Haggerty claimed his second LSC Coach of the Year award in 2016 sharing honors with former Cameron coach Nate Gamet. He also claimed the honor in 2012.
 
WINNING COMBINATION: Midwestern State is the top defensive squad in the Lone Star Conference limiting the opposition to 39.2 percent from the field. The Mustangs held their first three opponents to under 40 percent from the field before Adams State snapped the string shooting 43.5 percent last Saturday in Pueblo. MSU Texas also ranks third in the LSC with a +7.0 rebound margin. The Mustangs have not been out-rebounded this season surging to a +16 against Colorado State-Pueblo and +10 versus Adams State last weekend at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic.
 
KING COULTER GARNERS HONORS: Junior forward Bishop Coulter Al Kaly Shrine Classic MVP honors and later Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week accolades averaging 17 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games at the classic. The Atoka, Okla. Native knocked down 10-of-14 shots for a season-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds in a 92-66 rout of Colorado State-Pueblo. He scored 13 points and snagged six rebounds in the Mustangs' 75-71 victory over Adams State.
 
WALLACE CLEANS GLASS FOR LSC DEFENSIVE HONOR: Junior guard Josh Wallace flashed all-around game to take home his first Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week award. The Queens, N.Y. native averaged six points, seven rebounds and five assists a game wins over Colorado State-Pueblo and Adams State last weekend at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic.
 
HARRIS IS ALL-TOURNAMENT: Junior guard D'monta Harris was named to the all-tournament team averaging 11 points and seven rebounds. He connected on nine of his 10 shots from the field to score a season-high 19 points and pull in eight rebounds against Colorado State-Pueblo.
 
TRAE HITTING TREYS: Redshirt-freshman Trae Jones connected on three 3-pointers in each game of the Al Kaly Shrine Classic going for a season-high 14 points against Colorado State-Pueblo. Jones ranks third in the LSC with 2.3 3-point makes per game.
 
REBOUNDING FORCE: Junior Gilbert Thomas, Jr. ranks seventh in the Lone Star Conference pulling down 6.5 rebounds a game. The 6-6 junior transfer from Angelina College grabbed matching season highs of 10 boards in both games of the Nissan of Wichita Falls Classic against Arkansas-Fort Smith and Rogers State.
 
STARK REALITY: Senior JaJuan Starks matched a season-high with 12 points and seven rebounds against Colorado State-Pueblo. Stark averaged 10 points and 6.5 rebounds a game at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic.
 
LEE FOR THREE: Junior guard Elijah Lee buried three 3-pointers to lead the Mustangs with a campaign-high 15 points Saturday against Adams State.
 
CHATMAN NEAR PERFECT AT AL KALY: Junior Dorian Chatman connected on 7-of-8 shots at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic going for a season-high eight points against Colorado State-Pueblo.
 
MUSTANGS ON ESPN 95.5:  Every Midwestern State men's basketball will air live on ESPN 95.5 FM beginning the pregame show 15 minutes prior to tipoff.
 
MUSTANGS DIGITAL NETWORK: All Midwestern State home games are set for broadcast on the Mustangs Digital Network both live and on demand at MSUMustangs.tv. Season passes are available for $30 while single games run $9 each.
 
FOLLOW US: Follow news, notes and photos for all Midwestern State athletic teams on MSUMustangs.com or on social media at MSUMustangs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
COMING UP NEXT…: Midwestern State competes in its third classic of the season this weekend at the UAFS Thanksgiving Classic. The Mustangs battle No. 5 (D2SIDA) Southern Nazarene (Okla.) on Friday and Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) on Saturday. Both games are slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Ark.