FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Midwestern State won the rebound battle and held another foe to under a 40-percent shooting night Wednesday at the Stubblefield Center.
 
But that was all undone by 21 turnovers and brutal shooting at the charity stripe to allow Arkansas-Fort Smith to sweep the home-and-home series by taking a 77-66 win.
 
"We have to start valuing the ball better and get stops when we need them," MSU coach Nelson Haggerty said. "We chased the ball well most of the night, but gave up on a few plays near the end of the game which allowed them to get open looks."
 
Senior guard JaJuan Starks splashed in a pair of 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 16 points while grabbing eight rebounds to lead the Mustangs off of the bench, while redshirt-freshman Trae Jones hit three triples for the third consecutive game to add 12 points.
 
The Mustangs worked the ball to shoot 60 percent in the first half to overcome UA-Fort Smith's game-opening 11-0 run to build a 39-34 lead at the half.
 
The Lions (3-2) took advantage of five free points resulting from three Midwestern State technical fouls with one charged to the bench after Gilbert Thomas appeared to cleanly block a shot in the first half, another to Thomas himself who was accused of hanging on the rim with no one under him on a dunk and the other in the closing minutes when Bishop Coulter protested his fourth foul of the game.
 
Gilbert's dunk at the 14:16 mark of the second half gave the Mustangs their largest lead of the game at 48-40, but the technical free throw precipitated a 9-0 UAFS fun with Seth Hawley finishing off two hustle plays with 3-pointers to give the Lions a 49-48 with 10:08 to go.
 
The Mustangs surged back in front 55-51 when Josh Wallace connected on one of two free throws at the 7:48 mark for a 55-51 lead after Starks hammered in a two-handed dunk on a right baseline drive.
 
This time UA-Fort Smith answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by David Ward to regain the lead at 60-59 with 6:08 to play. MSU Texas would never lead again.
                                                  
The Lions extended the lead to five points before junior guard Elijah Lee hitting a driving layup and a 3-ball from the left wing to get the Mustangs back to within two at 68-66 with 2:08 to go.
 
Coulter was whistled for his fourth foul on the next possession and was disqualified following the technical foul allowing UAFS to earn a four-point possession. Midwestern State didn't score again.
 
The Mustangs finished the game going 10-of-21 from the free throw line (47.6 percent), while Arkansas-Fort Smith turned 21 MSU Texas turnovers into 27 points.
 
Midwestern State opens the UAFS Thanksgiving Classic Friday afternoon against No. 5 Southern Nazarene. Tipoff at the Stubblefield Center is set for 5 p.m.