WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State takes on No. 7 West Texas A&M in its home opener Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
MUSTANGS IN HOME OPENERS
Midwestern State owns wins in its last 10 home openers and is 44-7 all-time in lid lifters played at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs' last home opening setback came 88-83 to Dallas Baptist on Nov. 15, 2008 and preceded a 41-game home court winning streak. The last 10 Midwestern State home openers:
 

Date	Result
11/9/18	Midwestern State 80, Rogers State 75
11/21/17	Midwestern State 96, Southwestern Assemblies of God 72
11/14/16	Midwestern State 103, Adams State 88
11/15/15	Midwestern State 103, Oklahoma City 51
11/19/14	Midwestern State 86, Science & Arts (Okla.) 65
11/25/13	Midwestern State 72, Oklahoma City 61
12/5/12	Midwestern State 65, West Texas A&M 62
11/11/11	Midwestern State 100, Mid-America Christian 63
11/17/10	Midwestern State 78, Southwestern Christian 67
11/18/09	Midwestern State 83, St. Mary's (Texas) 72

 
LAST TIME OUT
Colorado State-Pueblo rallied from a 14-point deficit by shooting 21-of-25 from the free throw line over the game's final 10 minutes to claim a 69-64 win over Midwestern State Saturday night at Massari Arena in Pueblo. Senior guard Darius Thompson scored 16 points, while sophomore Trae Jones chipped in 10 for the Mustangs. MSU was whistled for 31 total fouls contributing to CSU-Pueblo's 35-5 edge in free throw attempts. Midwestern shot 49.1 percent from the field and controlled a 38-16 edge in points in the paint.
 
SERIES HISTORY
West Texas A&M holds a 40-32 edge in the series which dates back to the 1947 season. The Buffaloes won the last five against Midwestern State. The Mustangs are 21-10 against WT in Wichita Falls, but the Buffs claimed wins by 29 and 25 points in each of their last two visits to D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs last defeated West Texas A&M on Jan. 5, 2017 in Wichita Falls (84-78). The last 10 meetings between Midwestern State and West Texas A&M:
 

Date	Results	Location
1/3/19	West Texas A&M 87, Midwestern State 62	Wichita Falls
12/1/18	West Texas A&M 93, Midwestern State 70	Canyon
2/10/18	West Texas A&M 87, Midwestern State 58	Wichita Falls
1/4/18	West Texas A&M 83, Midwestern State 76	Canyon
2/11/17	West Texas A&M 80, Midwestern State 74	Canyon
1/5/17	Midwestern State 84, West Texas A&M 78	Wichita Falls
2/10/16	Midwestern State 84, West Texas A&M 75	Wichita Falls
1/6/16	Midwestern State 74, West Texas A&M 65	Canyon
2/11/15	West Texas A&M 73, Midwestern State 60	Canyon
1/7/15	Midwestern State 73, West Texas A&M 58	Wichita Falls

 
ABOUT THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M rattled off four impressive wins at the start of the 2019-20 season including victories over No. 6 Lincoln Memorial (99-89/OT) and South Carolina-Aiken (91-80) at the SCB Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. The Buffs then routed RMAC foes Adams State (108-77) and Western Colorado (114-58) last weekend in Canyon. The Buffs rank seventh in NCAA Division II averaging 103 points per game winning games by 27 points a contest. West Texas A&M have put up 129 3-pointers (second nationally) over four games and fourth in the country with 114 free throw attempts. Sophomores Joel Murray (23.5 ppg) and Qua Grant (20.8) drive WT's attack, while fellow sophomore starters Jon'il Fugett (13.3 ppg) and Derrick Geddis (10.3 ppg) are also in double digits. West Texas A&M is the favorite to win the Lone Star Conference this season after advancing to the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons.
 
AGAINST NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS
Midwestern State owns a 39-68 all-time record against opponents ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Poll including a 14-34 mark against Top 10 foes. The Mustangs dropped the last 12 against nationally ranked teams with the last victory coming against No. 11 West Texas A&M (84-78) on Jan. 5, 2017 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
THOMPSON POINTING THE WAY
Darius Thompson leads Midwestern State and ranks 15th in the Lone Star Conference scoring 15 points per game. The senior guard from Memphis is coming off of a 16-point performance with two 3-pointers against Colorado State-Pueblo after going for 14 points with six rebounds and four triples in the season opener at UC Colorado Springs.
 
A TRAE-DMARK OF EFFICIENCY
Trae Jones scored 10.5 points per game the season opening weekend in Colorado with newfound efficiency. The sophomore guard is 8-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the arc – both are 57.1 percent. He scored 11 points with three 3-pointers in the season opener against UC Colorado Springs, then nailed one triple to finish with 10 points at Colorado State-Pueblo. The much improved Jones shot 28.9 percent from the field in his redshirt freshman campaign and 26.4 percent from the arc.
 
PROVIDING PUNCH
Senior guard D'monta Harris ranks second on the team scoring 11.5 points and five rebounds per game. The Pontiac, Mich. native rattled in 14 points with two 3-pointers in the season opener.
 
JB ON THE BOARDS
Sophomore Jalin Brown grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in both games last weekend in Colorado. The 6-7 forward from Denton neared double-doubles finishing with nine points in 29 minutes against UC Colorado Springs before finishing with six points before fouling out in 21 minutes at Colorado State-Pueblo.
 
ALL ABOARD WITH COACH LESLIE
Justin Leslie makes the move to Wichita Falls following a highly successful run at Azusa Pacific. He led his alma mater to an average of 22 wins per season in his 12 season at the helm including nine 20-win campaigns, two Pacific West Conference titles and an NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2015.  Currently, Leslie boasts a 266-123 record (.684) as a collegiate head coach.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on Texas Wesleyan Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. or 25 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game which begins at 5.