KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Midwestern State remains in search of its first victory Tuesday night against Central Missouri in the MIAA Thanksgiving Challenge at Municipal Auditorium. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
COVERAGE
No video streaming is available at the MIAA Thanksgiving Challenge. Follow live over the air in Wichita Falls on ESPN 95.5 FM or stream live at Network1Sports.
 
ELITE EIGHT CONNECTIONS
Midwestern State's two-week run of playing non-conference foes Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri has ties to the Mustangs' run of three consecutive Elite Eight appearances from 2010-12. MSU won its first South Central Region title by defeating Central Missouri, 60-59, at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in 2011. The next season, the Mustangs rolled to three consecutive wins at Hamilton Field House in Edmond which culminated in a 73-66 victory over the Bronchos in the finals. Then in 2012, Midwestern beat Arkansas Tech in the South Central Region title game by a score of 77-61. The Wonder Boys were coached by current UCM boss Doug Karleskint.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Senior guard D'monta Harris erupted for a career-high 36 points in a 73-72 loss to Central Oklahoma Wednesday night at Hamilton Field House in Edmond. The Pontiac, Mich. native connected for 13-of-15 shots from the field and was 8-of-9 from beyond the arc. The 36 points were the most since former All-American Chris Hagan had the same output against Angelo State in 2011. Central Oklahoma proved opportunistic with a 34-8 edge in points off of turnovers despite the Mustangs 55-percent shooting night. The Mustangs clawed their way back from a 13-point deficit with 8 1/2 minutes to play getting to within a single point on Darius Thompson's driving layup with 4 seconds remaining.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Central Missouri split the four previous meetings between the programs with the last two coming in consecutive years in the South Central Region. MSU All-America guard Nolan Richardson IV connected on six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points in an 80-72 regional semifinal loss in 2008 in Warrensburg, but the Mustangs would claim victory in the final round a year later. Craig Green tallied a team-high 24 points, but it was Chris Hagan's runner with 58 seconds to go which proved to be the difference in a 60-59 win sending the Mustangs to their first Elite Eight. Here are the results of the four meetings between the Mustangs and Mules:
 

Date	Result	Location
3/16/10	#3 Midwestern State 60, #7 Central Missouri 59	Wichita Falls
3/15/09	#6 Central Missouri 80, Midwestern State 72	Warrensburg, Mo.
11/29/02	Central Missouri 78, Midwestern State 75	San Antonio, Texas
1/4/86	Midwestern State 69, Central Missouri 57	Wichita Falls

 
ABOUT THE MULES
Central Missouri is 1-4 for the first time since the start of the 1970-71 season. The Mules beat Upper Iowa 70-65 for the lone win of the season on Nov. 16 at The Multi in Warrensburg. UCM dropped consecutive games on both sides of the victory falling to Southwest Minnesota State (62-58) and Augustana (76-72) to start the season. The Mules ride a two-game skid into Tuesday's game against Midwestern State falling at home to William Jewell (56-53) and at Wayne State (Neb.) (73-63). Sophomore forward Gaven Pinkley paces Central Missouri averaging 13.4 points and seven rebounds per game. He notched a season-high 21 points against Augustana and followed with a 20-point effort against Upper Iowa, but hasn't reached double digits in his last two games. Senior guard Kendale Hampton nets 11.2 points a game going for 23 against Southwest Minnesota State and 20 versus Augustana. He has combined for a total of 13 points in his last three outings. Doug Karleskint is in his sixth season at the helm of the UCM program posting a 95-59 record with three 20-win seasons since arriving in Warrensburg prior to the 2014-15 season. The Mules won the 2014 NCAA Division II championship.
 
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
Midwestern State ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference field goal percentage defense limiting the opposition to 41.5 percent shooting. That ranks 85th in NCAA D2. The Mustangs held three consecutive opponents to worse than 41-percent shooting before Central Oklahoma shot an opponent best 45.9 percent from the field last week in Edmond. MSU is 64th nationally and fourth in the LSC in 3-point percentage defense holding the opposition to 29.5 percent from beyond the arc. Three of the Mustangs' five opponents managed no better than a 25-percent success rate on 3-point attempts.
 
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 266-126 record (.679) as a collegiate head coach.
 
HARRIS SETS SINGLE-GAME MARK FOR MARKSMANSHIP
Senior guard D'monta Harris connected on eight of his nine 3-point attempts at Central Oklahoma (11/20). The 88.9-percent accuracy is the best in a single game in program history and is the third best in NCAA Division II this season. North Georgia sophomore Josh Cottrell nailed all seven his 3-point attempts against Erskine (11/9), while Saint Michael's senior Jordan Guzman was 9-for-10 from the arc against Caldwell (11/8). NCAA single-game shooting percentage is based on seven made 3-pointers.
 
HARRIS RIPS NETS FOR 36
Senior guard D'monta Harris connected on 13-of-15 shots including 8-of-9 from the arc for a career-high 36 points Wednesday night at Central Oklahoma. The Pontiac, Mich. native completed his second consecutive double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds. Harris ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference and 71st in NCAA D2 with a 48.6 3-point percentage, while rating second in the league and 62nd nationally knocking down 3.4 triples a game. Harris is seventh in the LSC in scoring at 18.8 points per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson ranks second on the squad at 16 points per game and has done with consistency. The Memphis, Tenn. native has scored in double figures in each of the Mustangs' five games including a season-high 21 with 11 rebounds against Texas Wesleyan (11/16). Thompson has connected on at least two 3-pointers in game this season and is shooting 48.4 percent from the field. For the season, he sports averages of 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
 
PRESENTING McBUCKETS
Evan McCarthy enjoyed a breakout scoring in double digits against West Texas A&M and Texas Wesleyan before sitting out the Central Oklahoma with an injury. The freshman guard from Mansfield dropped in a season-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with three 3-pointers against West Texas A&M, then proved clutch down the stretch against Texas Wesleyan. He connected on a long 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play then converted a traditional three-point play driving the right baseline to give MSU its only lead of the second half with 48 seconds remaining. The six points were half of McCarthy's production as he finished with 12 points and four assists against the Rams. The splurge improved his season scoring average to 8.5 points.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State enjoys a nine-day break before tipping off Lone Star Conference play on Thursday, Dec. 5 at UT Permian Basin.