SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Midwestern State seemingly did everything required to claim its first victory of the season Saturday night at Drag's Court.
 
The Mustangs displayed an increasingly ultra-efficient offense shooting 65 percent in the second half. MSU Texas, which also connected on 7-of-14 from the arc after intermission, erased a 10-point deficit and put itself in position to claim first victory.
 
But the wheels came off in the final 60 seconds allowing Western New Mexico to force overtime and eventually pull away for a 98-88 win.
 
With the loss, MSU Texas matches the slowest start in program history while equaling the longest skid at 0-8.
 
The Mustangs owned an 81-77 edge when senior Darius Thompson hit a floater just outside the lane with 1:56 to play, but they would not score again.
 
Thompson fouled out on a player control foul with 1:15 to play, then the Mustangs turned the ball over in the backcourt on the next possession. In between, WNMU connected on a pair of free throws before Elijah Holifield drove the baseline for the game tying layup with 24 seconds to go.
 
Midwestern State held for a final shot that never materialized and the game went to overtime.
 
"We called a timeout to run a play that we had been working on all week in practice specifically for this. We drew it up and we just didn't run it," MSU Texas coach Justin Leslie said. "That's on me. I need to get these guys to where they can execute. I don't have an answer. I can just go through my teaching and the way I am presenting it."
 
Western New Mexico took control outscoring the Mustangs 17-7 in the extra frame.
 
"The bench was crushed, but we just have to flush that and move on," Leslie said. "That last play was where the dam just burst emotionally. We had multiple turnovers in the final minute and we fouled four 3-point shooters tonight. We have to get better with fundamentals."
 
Sophomore forward Jalin Brown logged season highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting, while sophomore Trae Jones buried four 3-pointers on his way to 18 points.
 
Thompson hit two triples and scored 16 points before fouling out in 30 minutes.
 
Redshirt-freshman Drake Dusek scored nine points and blocked two shots in his collegiate debut.
 
"Drake is a hard worker," Leslie said. "He keeps doing the right things in practice, so we decided to reward him tonight. He came through."
 
Midwestern State shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) from the field and 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the arc in regulation, but went cold in the OT session going 1-for-10 from the field and 0-of-6 from the arc.
 
Senior C.J. Vanbeekum poured in a game-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Western New Mexico which improved to 2-7 this season.
 
Midwestern State returns to action Thursday against Angelo State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.