FORT SMITH, Ark. – Midwestern State battles Arkansas-Fort Smith in a Lone Star Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Stubblefield Center. 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 enters Saturday's night's matchup a game and a half behind Oklahoma Christian for the 12th and final berth in the tournament with 11 games to play.
 

Lone Star Conference Men's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
St. Edward's (17-1)	11-1
West Texas A&M (18-1)	10-1
Texas A&M-Commerce (13-5)	9-3
Texas A&M-Kingsville (13-5)	9-3
Dallas Baptist (14-3)	8-3
Angelo State (11-4)	7-4
Lubbock Christian (10-6)	7-4
Tarleton State (10-7)	6-5
UT Permian Basin (13-8)	6-6
Eastern New Mexico (5-11)	5-6
Oklahoma Christian (6-10)	5-7
St. Mary's (9-9)	5-7
Cameron (5-12)	4-7
Midwestern State (3-14)	3-8
Arkansas-Fort Smith (7-11)	3-9
Western New Mexico (3-15)	2-10
Texas A&M International (3-15)	1-11
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (6-11)	3-9

 
LAST TIME OUT
Oklahoma Christian senior Aubrey Johnson dialed up nine 3-pointers to amass a career-high 35 points to lead the Eagles to a 64-60 win over Midwestern State Thursday night in the Eagles' Nest in Payne Athletic Center. The Mustangs trailed by as many as seven points with less than four minutes to play but used a surge in the final two minutes keyed by 3-pointers by Elijah Lee and D'monta Harris to pull within a single point at 61-60 with 16.4 seconds to play. MSU sophomore guard Trae Jones couldn't get a 3-pointer to fall on a decent look from the right wing with under 10 seconds to play which allowed Oklahoma Christian to escape with the win. Harris paced the Mustangs with 19 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore forward Jaylin Brown had 14 points and six boards.
 
YOU HAVE TO LEAD TO WIN…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all 17 games this season and has led after halftime in 12 contests. The Mustangs have led for a combined 246 minutes this season or 35.7 percent of all games. Further, MSU has held leads in the final five minutes or overtime in 10 games and in the final minute of regulation or overtime on eight 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 Arkansas-Fort Smith compete for the sixth time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Ark. UAFS leads the overall series which dates back to the 2013-14 season by a 3-2. The Lions have won the last three meetings including the only matchup played in Arkansas – a 77-66 victory last season on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 21, 2018).
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
Arkansas-Fort Smith has dropped five of its last six and 10 of its last 12 on the heels of a 70-68 loss to Cameron Thursday night at Stubblefield Center. Senior guard Brian Halums, a transfer from Mississippi, leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks fifth in NCAA Division II scoring 25.5 points per game. Halums has scored at least 20 points in 11 of his 15 games this season with games of 30-or-more points. He poured in 44 points and grabbed 13 rebounds last week at Texas A&M-Commerce. Junior guard Matthew Wilson has knocked down 52 triples this season to give the Lions a second double-figure scorer with 15.7 points per game. Wilson has connected on at least four triples on six occasions this season including campaign high of eight in a 34-point effort against Texas A&M International. Jim Boone is in the midst of his 34th season as a collegiate head coach which includes stints of 10 years at California (Pa.), seven years at Delta State (Miss.), six seasons at Tusculum, five years at Eastern Michigan, four season at Robert Morris and one at West Virginia Wesleyan.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks amongst the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs rank second in the LSC and 27th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 31.3 percent shooting from deep. Only seven of MSU's 17 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 (25.53 / 6th), field goal percentage defense (43.1 / 5th), free throw percentage (74.4 / 3rd) and 3-point field goals per game (9.5 / 7th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its 17 games this season including double-digit second half advantages against Colorado State-Pueblo, Central Missouri, UT Permian Basin, Angelo State, UT Tyler and Cameron. The opposition has outscored the Mustangs 18.8-10.0 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 12.3-8.9 in second-chance points. Midwestern posted a season-high 15 points off of turnovers against UT Permian Basin, then matched it against Cameron (1/18). The Mustangs 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 269-135 record (.666) 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), Texas A&M-Commerce (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Cameron (14 points, 11 rebounds). He has connected on 37.9 percent of his 3-point tries. Harris is 22nd in the LSC in scoring at 13.6 points per game, but ranks as the 12th-best rebounder in the league pulling down 6.5 boards per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson leads the Mustangs in scoring at 15.4 points per game logging double figures in 13 of his 15 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 14 of 15 games this season and is shooting 46.8 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with 11 in his first 15 games. Thompson is 13th in the conference in scoring.
 
TRAE BALL
Sophomore guard Trae Jones has connected on multiple 3-pointers in nine games this season. He knocked down a career-best six triples to finish with a collegiate-high 19 points against Cameron (1/19). Jones drained 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 six times this season, averages 7.8 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 6.9 rebounds per game – the ninth most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
McBUCKETS MAKING AN IMPACT
Evan McCarthy brings a scoring punch for the Mustangs scoring 8.6 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 44 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from the arc (23-of-53).
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for a Thursday night clash with Texas A&M-Kingsville. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.