WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State returns to the dome to take on Angelo State Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Midwestern State shot 65 percent from the field in the second half and went 7-of-14 from the arc to rally from a 10-point first-half deficit before falling 98-88 to Western New Mexico in overtime Saturday in Silver City. Sophomore forward Jalin Brown notched career highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Trae Jones ripped the nets for 18 points including a campaign-best four 3-pointers. C.J. Vanbeekum poured in 22 points to lead Western New Mexico.
 
CLOSE BUT…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all eight games this season and has led in the second half in six contests. In fact, the Mustangs have led for a combined 113 minutes this season or 34.8 percent of all games. Further, MSU has held leads in the final five minutes in five games and in the final minute of regulation on three occasions.
 

Opponent	Time with lead	Largest lead	Last time opponent tied/gained advantage
UC Colorado Springs	12:04	7	UCCS took lead, 10:51/2nd
Colorado State-Pueblo	18:41	14	CSU-P tied, 3:51/2nd
West Texas A&M	3:12	2	MSU did not lead in second half
Texas Wesleyan	5:13	6	TXWES took lead, 0:07/2nd
Central Oklahoma	4:09	4	MSU did not lead in second half
Central Missouri	26:41	19	UCM tied, 2:21/2nd
UT Permian Basin	25:15	14	UTPB took lead, 0:03/2nd
Western New Mexico	17:58	8	WNMU tied, 0:24/2nd

  
THE STREAK
Midwestern State can snap the program's longest skid with a win over Angelo State. MSU also suffered eight consecutive losses on four other occasions during the 1988-89, 1981-82, 1947-48 and 1946-47 seasons. The 0-8 start also matches the worst start in program history as the eight-game slides of 1988-89 and 1947-48 also came at the beginning of the season. Midwestern has never began any campaign with nine straight setbacks.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Angelo State meet for the 81st time on the hardwood Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. MSU leads the series which dates back to the 1965-66 season by a 47-33 margin. Angelo State, however, swept the season series in 2018-19, has won five of the last six and nine of the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2014-15 campaign. The Mustangs own a 30-8 edge in games against Angelo State played at Ligon Coliseum including a run of 20 consecutive wins over the Rams from 1988-2012. Angelo State has won four of their last seven against MSU under the dome since snapping the streak. Here are the results of the last 10 games of the series between the Mustangs and Rams:
 

Date	Result	Location
2/28/19	Angelo State 91, Midwestern State 64	Wichita Falls
1/26/19	Angelo State 72, Midwestern State 67	San Angelo
2/3/18	Midwestern State 88, Angelo State 78	Wichita Falls
12/7/17	Angelo State 94, Midwestern State 82	San Angelo
2/4/17	Angelo State 74, Midwestern State 67	San Angelo
12/8/16	Angelo State 75, Midwestern State 72	Wichita Falls
3/5/16	Midwestern State 88, Angelo State 72	Allen, Texas
2/20/16	Midwestern State 76, Angelo State 71	Wichita Falls
1/23/16	Angelo State 91, Midwestern State 83	San Angelo
3/15/15	Angelo State 66, Midwestern State 49	Stephenville, Texas

  
ABOUT THE RAMS
Angelo State (6-1, 2-1) had a season opening six-game winning streak snapped in an 84-82 overtime loss to No. 19  Dallas Baptist on Dec. 7 in San Angelo. The Rams play their first game since the loss – a span of 12 days – Thursday night against Midwestern State. Angelo State stands as the best in the Lone Star Conference and rank 11th in NCAA Division II with +10.1 rebound margin, while ranking fourth in the league and 42nd nationally in scoring defense allowing 67.9 points per game. ASU is also amongst the best in guarding the 3-point arc ranking second in the LSC and 23rd in D2 limiting the opposition to 29.3 percent. Senior guard Ronald Bell leads the Rams and ranks ninth in the league in scoring at 17.9 points per game. The 6-6, 215-pounder from Atlanta, Ga. has scored at least 16 points in each of the Rams' six games including a season-high 22 points against San Francisco State. Senior forward Andres Ibarguen ranks amongst the best rebounders in the country. The 6-5 native of Santa Marta, Colombia boasts three double-doubles while ranking sixth in all of NCAA D2 pulling down 4.3 offensive caroms per game. Ibarguen scores 10 points and ranks second in the LSC and 40th in D2 with 9.9 total rebounds per game. Senior guards Jeremy Hayes (15.9 ppg) and Collin Turner (15.1 ppg) also average in double figures for the Rams. Cinco Boone boasts an 88-40 mark (.688) in his fifth season as head coach at Angelo State.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks amongst the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs rate third in the LSC and 47th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 31 percent shooting from deep. Only three of MSU's eight opponents have shot greater than 30.8 percent. The Mustangs also rank in the top half of the conference in blocked shots per game (2.9 / 7th), field goal percentage defense (43.3/8th) and 3-point field goals per game (10.0/5th) and 3-point field goal percentage (37.9/3rd).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its eight games this season including double-digit second half advantages against Colorado State-Pueblo, Central Missouri and UT Permian Basin. The opposition has outscored the Mustangs 22.2-9.8 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 11.8-8.5 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 266-129 record (.673) 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 28th in NCAA D2 with a 47.8 3-point percentage, while rating sixth in the league and 96th nationally knocking down 2.8 triples a game. Harris is 15th in the LSC in scoring at 15.4 points per game, but ranks as the seventh-best rebounder in the league pulling down 7.0 boards per game. He is eighth in the LSC grabbing 5.1 defensive caroms a contest.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson leads the Mustangs scoring 15.6 points per game logging double figures in each of MSU's eight 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 50.5 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with eight in his first eight games to rank seventh in the LSC with 1.0 swat a contest. Thompson is 10th in the conference in field goal percentage.
 
BROWN ERUPTS FOR DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore forward Jalin Brown set career highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds against Western New Mexico (12/14). The Denton native shot 6-of-8 from the field hitting a pair of 3-pointers and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe while dishing out four assists against WNMU. Brown upped his season rebound average to 7.3 per game – the sixth most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
TREYS FOR TRAE
Sophomore guard Trae Jones buried at least two triples in each of his last four games and is coming off a season-best 18-point effort with four triples against Western New Mexico (12/14). The Wichita Falls native connected on at least two 3-pointers in five of the Mustangs' eight games this season. He is shooting 38.5 percent from the arc this season going 15-of-39.
 
DRAKE'S OPENING ACT
Redshirt-freshman Drake Dusek scored nine points and blocked two shots in his collegiate debut against Western New Mexico (12/14).
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on Lubbock Christian in the final game before the Christmas Break Saturday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.