WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State and Cameron resume the Red River Rivalry Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
THE RACE FOR THE POSTSEASON
The top 12 finishing teams in the overall league standings advance to the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament set for March 3-8 culminating with the final three rounds at Comerica Center in Frisco. The division winners are guaranteed a spot in the field, but the seeding is set by the order of finish counting all conference games. Midwestern State and Cameron enter the week tied for 13th in the overall standings just a game and a half behind UT Permian Basin, Tarleton State, St. Mary's (Texas) and Oklahoma Christian – all at 4-5.
 

Lone Star Conference Men's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
St. Edward's (14-1)	8-1
Texas A&M-Kingsville (12-3)	8-1
West Texas A&M (15-1_	7-1
Dallas Baptist (13-2)	7-2
Angelo State (10-2)	6-2
Texas A&M-Commerce (10-5)	6-3
Lubbock Christian (8-5)	5-3
Eastern New Mexico (5-8)	5-3
UT Permian Basin (11-7)	4-5
Tarleton State (8-7)	4-5
St. Mary's (8-7)	4-5
Oklahoma Christian (5-8)	4-5
Cameron (3-11)	2-6
Midwestern State (2-12)	2-6
Arkansas-Fort Smith (6-9)	2-7
Western New Mexico (3-12)	2-7
Texas A&M International (2-13)	0-9
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (5-9)	2-7

 
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore guard Caleb Jordan poured in a career-high 27 points to lead St. Mary's (Texas) to an 80-72 win over Midwestern State Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Hilltoppers (8-7, 4-5) led by as many as 17 points in the second half before the Mustangs battled to close the gap to five with a minute to play. Senior guard Darius Thompson connected on four 3-pointers to lead MSU with 23 points while adding six rebounds and four assists. Seniors Ola Ayodele and D'monta Harris added 11 points each for the Mustangs. MSU faced a cold shooting night hitting on just 8-of-29 attempts (27.6 percent) from the arc.
 
YOU HAVE TO LEAD TO WIN…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all 14 games this season and has led after halftime in 10 contests. The Mustangs have led for a combined 205 minutes this season or 36.0 percent of all games. Further, MSU has held leads in the final five minutes or overtime in nine games and in the final minute of regulation or overtime on seven occasions. The Mustangs held the lead for more than half of the game in five of six games from Dec. 9 (vs. Angelo State) to Jan. 2 (at UT Tyler).
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Cameron compete for the 80th time on the hardwood Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs lead the overall series which dates back to the 1968-69 season by a 49-29 margin. The teams have split the season series in each of the last two years with the home team winning each game. MSU has dominated the series in games played at Ligon Coliseum posting a 31-5 record against the Aggies under the dome which includes a 17-game winning streak from 1991 through 2015.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES
Cameron has dropped their last two games and six of the last seven games heading into Red River Rivalry week. The Aggies are 2-5 on the road this season claiming wins at Western New Mexico and UT Tyler. Cameron, however, is one of the top teams in the Lone Star Conference on the boards. The Aggies lead the league and rank 18th nationally pulling down 13.71 rebounds per game and are third in the league (85th in D2) with a +3.4 rebound margin. Senior guard Tyler Williams leads CU scoring 10.4 points per game, while sophomore forward Kendall Scott is the top inside option for the Aggies at 10 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jordan Lewis adds 9.7 points per game, while sophomore Brock Schreiner scores 9.5 points per game. Redshirt-freshman Kinyon Parker drilled five 3-pointers to finish with 17 points Saturday against St. Edward's after coming into the game with five total points for the season. Andrew Brown owns a 40-60 record in his fourth season as head coach at Cameron. He posted a 119-112 mark in eight seasons at Northwestern Oklahoma State from 2007-15.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks amongst the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs top the LSC and rank 12th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 29.9 percent shooting from deep. Only four of MSU's 13 opponents have shot greater than 32.1 percent. The Mustangs also rank in the top half of the conference in blocked shots per game (2.9 / 8th), defensive rebounds per game (25.86 / 5th), field goal percentage defense (43.4/7th), free throw percentage (76.2 / 2nd) and 3-point field goals per game (9.5/6th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its 14 games this season including double-digit second half advantages against Colorado State-Pueblo, Central Missouri, UT Permian Basin, Angelo State and UT Tyler. The opposition has outscored the Mustangs 19.9-9.4 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 12.6-9.6 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 and matched it against St. Mary's.
 
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 268-133 record (.668) 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 (with at least seven makes) and is the fifth 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 and again by Westminster's Jai Jai Ely against Chadron State on Jan. 10. 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 also turned in double-double performances against Texas Wesleyan (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Texas A&M-Commerce (18 points, 11 rebounds). He has connected on 40.3 percent of his 3-point tries. Harris is 21st in the LSC in scoring at 13.6 points per game, but ranks as the 11th-best rebounder in the league pulling down 6.4 boards per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson leads the Mustangs in scoring at 15.1 points per game logging double figures in 11 of his 13 games. The Memphis, Tenn. native poured in a season-high 23 points on the strength of four 3-pointers against St. Mary's (Texas) (1/11) while adding six rebounds and four assists. Thompson boasts three double-doubles this season going for 21 points 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 garnered his third double-double of the campaign going for 10 points and 10 assists at UT Permian Basin (12/5). Thompson then matched a then season-high with 21 points against Texas A&M-Commerce (1/4) scoring the final eight points as the Mustangs mounted a 14-4 run in the last 58 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. Thompson has hit a 3-pointer in in 12 of 13 games this season and is shooting 48.3 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with nine in his first 13 games. Thompson is 12th in the conference in field goal percentage.
 
TRAE BALL
Sophomore guard Trae Jones has connected on multiple 3-pointers in eight games this season. He drained a campaign-best four triples to finish with 18 points at Western New Mexico (12/14), then buried four more treys to notch 14 points against No.7 St. Edward's (1/9). Jones, who has tallied in double figures five times this season, averages 7.2 points per game.
 
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 added his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds while leading the Mustangs to a 59-44 win at UT Tyler (1/2). Brown averages 7.2 rebounds per game – the 10th most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
McBUCKETS MAKING AN IMPACT
Evan McCarthy brings a scoring punch for the Mustangs scoring 9.7 points per game in his true freshman campaign. The Mansfield native has scored in double figures in six games this season. He drilled four triples while going 5-for-6 from the field for a campaign-best 19 points against Angelo State (12/19) to ignite a four-game run of scoring in double digits going for 10 points against Lubbock Christian (12/21), 13 at UT Tyler (1/2) and 11 at Texas A&M-Commerce (1/4). McCarthy enjoyed a breakout against No. 7 West Texas A&M (11/14) canning three triples to finish with 14 points. For the season, McCarthy is shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from the arc (20-of-42).
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State closes the Red River Rivalry by facing Cameron Saturday afternoon at Aggie Gym in Lawton. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.