LAWTON, Okla. – Midwestern State and Cameron conclude the Red River Rivalry Week Saturday afternoon at Aggie Gym. Tipoff is set for 4 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 entered 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.
  

Lone Star Conference Men's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
St. Edward's (15-1)	9-1
West Texas A&M (16-1)	8-1
Dallas Baptist (14-2)	8-2
Texas A&M-Kingsville (12-4)	8-2
Texas A&M-Commerce (11-5)	7-3
Angelo State (10-3)	6-3
Lubbock Christian (9-5)	6-3
Eastern New Mexico (5-9)	5-4
St. Mary's (9-7)	5-5
Tarleton State (9-7)	5-5
UT Permian Basin (11-8)	4-6
Oklahoma Christian (5-9)	4-6
Cameron (4-11)	3-6
Midwestern State (2-13)	2-7
Arkansas-Fort Smith (6-10)	2-8
Western New Mexico (3-13)	2-8
Texas A&M International (2-14)	0-10
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (6-9)	3-7

 
LAST TIME OUT
Midwestern State misfired on a potential game-tying free throw with four seconds to play to fall to Cameron 76-73 Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs rallied from a 12-point deficit with 14 minutes to play as Cameron missed 4-of-8 free throws in the final minute of the game to keep MSU within striking distance. Ola Ayodele was fouled on a put-back layup to pull the Mustangs to within a point at 74-73, but he was unable to complete the traditional three-point play. Brock Schreiner paced Cameron with 20 points, while Jordan Lewis buried four triples to finish with 15. Darius Thompson paced Midwestern State with 19 points. MSU committed a season low six turnovers and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, but struggled from the arc making 7-of-35 shots (20 percent).
 
YOU HAVE TO LEAD TO WIN…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all 15 games this season and has led after halftime in 10 contests. The Mustangs have led for a combined 211 minutes this season or 34.6 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 Saturday afternoon at Aggie Gym. The Mustangs lead the overall series which dates back to the 1968-69 season by a 49-30 margin. The teams have split the season series in each of the last two years with the home team winning each game before Cameron's win Wednesday night at Ligon Coliseum. Cameron is 23-15 all-time against Midwestern State at Aggie Gym and have claimed victories in the last three meetings on its home floor. The Mustangs last beat the Aggies in Lawton -- 79-59 – on Feb. 27, 2016.
 
IT HAPPENED AT AGGIE GYM
- Chris Hagan erupted for a school single-game record 50 points on Dec. 13, 2010. He went 17-of-26 from the field, 8-of-14 from 3-point range and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Hagan scored 21 points in the first half and 29 in the second to lead the Mustangs to a 91-82 win to improve to 7-1 on the season.
- Midwestern set a program record by going 18-of-19 from the field (94.7 percent) during the second half of an 84-66 win at Cameron on Feb. 9, 2002. The then-Indians were 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Ironically, the Aggies were also involved in the Division II record for team field percentage in a single half yielding a 19-of-20 shooting percentage (95 percent) at Abilene Christian on Jan. 21, 1989.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES
Cameron snapped a two-game slide in Wednesday's 76-73 win at Midwestern State. The Aggies had dropped six of the previous seven games heading into Red River Rivalry week. The Aggies have lost their last six games on their home floor after claiming victory in their home opener against Central Oklahoma (73-71). Cameron, however, is one of the top teams in the Lone Star Conference on the boards. The Aggies lead the league and rank 20th nationally pulling down 13.53 offensive rebounds per game and are third in the league (79th in D2) with a +3.7 rebound margin. Sophomore guard Brock Schreiner leads a trio of guard scoring in double figures for the Aggies at 10.2 points per game. He is coming off of a 20-point effort Wednesday night at Midwestern State. Senior Jordan Lewis, who was 5-of-5 from the field with four triples against MSU, averages 10.1 points per game to match senior Tyler Williams. Andrew Brown owns a 41-60 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 18th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 30.5 percent shooting from deep. Only five of MSU's 15 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 / 7th), defensive rebounds per game (25.40 / 8th), field goal percentage defense (43.7/7th), free throw percentage (75.0 / 3rd) and 3-point field goals per game (9.3/7th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its 15 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 19.0-9.7 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 12.5-9.5 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 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 268-134 record (.667) 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 37.5 percent of his 3-point tries. Harris is 23rd in the LSC in scoring at 13.3 points per game, but ranks as the 13th-best rebounder in the league pulling down 6.1 boards per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson leads the Mustangs in scoring at 15.4 points per game logging double figures in 12 of his 14 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 13 of 14 games this season and is shooting 46.9 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with nine in his first 14 games. Thompson is 13th in the conference in scoring.
 
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 7.3 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 seventh most in the Lone Star Conference this season. He has missed the last two games due to injury.
 
McBUCKETS MAKING AN IMPACT
Evan McCarthy brings a scoring punch for the Mustangs scoring 9.3 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 45.1 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from the arc (20-of-46).
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State hits the road for a pair of Lone Star Conference road games next week. The Mustangs take on Oklahoma Christian on Thursday and Arkansas-Fort Smith  on Saturday.