SILVER CITY, N.M. – Midwestern State remains in search of its first win of the season and the first of the Justin Leslie era Saturday afternoon against Western New Mexico. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Central) on Drag's Court.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UT Permian Basin scored the last 12 points over the final 3:01 to edge Midwestern State 80-79 on Thursday, Dec. 5 at the Falcon Dome. The final run closed out a day full of oddities for the Mustangs. First, the team was stranded on Interstate-20 for nearly three hours due to a closure caused by a chemical fire which delayed the start of the game. The team shot a season-high 60 percent from the field (29-of-48) and 57 percent from 3-point range (13-of-23) while going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. But UTPB turned 25 Midwestern State miscues into a 31-15 edge in points off of turnovers to undo the Mustangs hot shooting efforts. Senior guard D'monta Harris led a group of four MSU players in double figures with 18 points, while senior forward Ola Ayodele scored a season-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Junior guard Reggie Rivera pitched in a campaign-best 13 points with seven rebounds, while senior guard Darius Thompson notched his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 assists.
 
CLOSE BUT…
Midwestern State has been in every game this season being outscored by a total of 35 points this season. That's five points per game. Six of the Mustangs' seven games have been decided by eight or fewer points and MSU has suffered losses by five or less points six times. The Mustangs have held leads in every game this season including double-digit advantages of 14 against Colorado State-Pueblo, 19 against Central Missouri and 14 against UT Permian Basin. In each of those games, the Mustangs lead by at least 10 points in the second half.
 
RARE FEAT
The Mustangs shot a season-best 60 percent from the floor in last week's 80-79 loss to UT Permian Basin. It was the first time a Midwestern State squad shot as well as 60 percent and lost since Angelo State stole an 89-88 win on Feb. 10, 2007 at Junell Center. That night, MSU shot 61.9 percent from the field (31-of-51) and lost the lead on Marcus Hubbard's bucket-and-foul with two seconds remaining. Last Thursday, Carson Newsome converted a driving right-handed layup with a foul to give UT Permian Basin its first lead of the second half with three seconds to go.
 
SEVEN THE OTHER WAY
For the second consecutive season, Midwestern State rides a seven-game skid into its game at Western New Mexico. MSU overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to escape with an 81-78 win to end the slide to avert matching the longest losing streak in program history. Midwestern suffered eight-straight losses on four occasions during the 1988-89, 1981-82, 1947-48 and 1946-47 seasons. MSU also looks to avoid the worst start in program history as the eight-game streaks of 1988-89 and 1947-48 came at the beginning of the season.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Western New Mexico meet for the 14^th time on the hardwood Saturday night at Drag's Court in Silver City. MSU leads the series which dates back to the 1980-81 season by a 12-1 margin. Midwestern swept the series last season claiming an 88-70 win at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, then overcame an 11-point halftime deficit for an 81-78 win in Silver City. Western New Mexico's only win of the series came on Drag's Court (86-84) on Feb. 17, 2018. Midwestern State owns a 4-1 all-time record for games played in Silver City. Here are the results of the all-time series between the two Mustangs:
 

Date	Result	Location
2/14/19	Midwestern State 81, Western New Mexico 78	Silver City
1/12/19	Midwestern State 88, Western New Mexico 70	Wichita Falls
2/17/18	Western New Mexico 86, Midwestern State 84	Silver City
1/11/18	Midwestern State 89, Western New Mexico 79	Wichita Falls
2/18/17	Midwestern State 89, Western New Mexico 72	Wichita Falls
1/12/17	Midwestern State 94, Western New Mexico 59	Silver City
2/5/94	Midwestern State 94, Western New Mexico 81	Wichita Falls
1/8/94	Midwestern State 75, Western New Mexico 74	Silver City
3/9/93	Midwestern State 95, Western New Mexico 60	Levelland, Texas
2/6/93	Midwestern State 69, Western New Mexico 67	Wichita Falls
1/20/93	Midwestern State 102, Western New Mexico 87	Silver City
12/5/86	Midwestern State 78, Western New Mexico 64	Amarillo, Texas
3/10/81	Midwestern State 56, Western New Mexico 55	Kansas City

 
ABOUT THE OTHER MUSTANGS
Western New Mexico (1-7) looks to snap a four-game slide with its first win over NCAA Division II opponent Saturday afternoon against Midwestern State. WNMU has struggled since joining the Lone Star Conference prior to the 2016-17 season posting a 5-51 mark in league play including home wins over Eastern New Mexico and Midwestern State in 2017-18 and Cameron in 2018-19, The Mustangs have claimed road wins at Angelo State in the 2017-18 finale and against Texas A&M-Commerce last season. Matt Enriquez returned to the bench earlier this season after first-year coach Matt Cross exited due to medical concerns. Enriquez previously served as head coach from 2016-19. Western New Mexico boasts two players averaging double figures in senior guard Elijah Holifield (14.4 ppg) and junior guard   Andrew Leonard (11.3 ppg).
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks amongst the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs rate third in the LSC and 33rd in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 29.6 percent shooting from deep. Only two of MSU's seven opponents have shot greater than 30.8 percent. The Mustangs also rank in the top half of the conference in blocked shots per game (2.7 / 7th), field goal percentage defense (43.0/8th) and 3-point field goals per game (9.4/5th) and 3-point field goal percentage (37.1/6th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its seven games this season including double-digit in the second half against Colorado State-Pueblo, Central Missouri and UT Permian Basin. The opposition has outscored the Mustangs 21.4-9.7 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 11.6-8.4 in second-chance points. Midwestern posted a season-high 15 points off of turnovers against UT Permian Basin and had a campaign-best 14 second-chance points against Central Missouri.
 
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 266-128 record (.675) 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 fourth best in NCAA Division II this season. North Georgia sophomore Josh Cottrell nailed all seven his 3-point attempts against Erskine (11/9). The feat was matched by Kutztown junior Tarojae Brake on Nov. 23 against Clarion. 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 on Nov. 20 at Central Oklahoma. The Pontiac, Mich. native completed his second consecutive double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds. Harris ranks third in the Lone Star Conference and 26th in NCAA D2 with a 48.9 3-point percentage, while rating third in the league and 53rd nationally knocking down 3.1 triples a game. Harris is ninth in the LSC in scoring at 17.6 points per game, but ranks as the fourth-best rebounder in the league pulling down 7.6 boards per game. He is third in the LSC grabbing 5.4 defensive caroms a contest.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson ranks second on the squad at 15.6 points per game logging double figures in each of MSU's seven games. The Memphis, Tenn. native poured in a season-high 21 with 11 rebounds against Texas Wesleyan (11/16), then added a second double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds against Central Missouri (11/26). He added his third double-double of the campaign going for 10 points and 10 assists at UT Permian Basin (12/5). Thompson has connected on at least two 3-pointers in each game this season and is shooting 50 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with eight in his first seven games to rank sixth in the LSC with 1.14 swats a contest. Thompson is 10th in the conference in field goal percentage.
 
REVVING UP RIVERA
Junior guard Reggie Rivera scored in double figures in each of his last two games off of the bench. The Orlando, Fla. native connected on seven free throws on his way to 11 points in a season-high 30 minutes against Central Missouri (11/20), then drained three 3-pointers on his way to a campaign-high 13 points with seven rebounds at UT Permian Basin (12/5).
 
JB HITTING THE BOARDS
Sophomore forward Jalin Brown snared at least eight rebounds in four of Midwestern State's six games this season. The Denton, Texas native narrowly missed his first double-double of the season with nine points and nine rebounds against Central Missouri (11/26). Brown grabbed eight rebounds in each of his first three contests this season (UC Colorado Springs, Colorado State-Pueblo, West Texas A&M) and connected for his first 3-pointer of the season last week against Central Missouri.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State plays a pair of Lone Star Conference games next week before heading into the Christmas break. The Mustangs take on Angelo State Thursday night at 7:30 before battling Lubbock Christian Saturday at 4. Both games are at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.