COMMERCE, Texas – Midwestern State looks to carry the momentum of wins in two of the last three games Saturday afternoon against Texas A&M-Commerce. Tipoff at the A&M-C Field House is set for 4 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Jaylin Brown keyed a solid defensive effort with his second double-double of the season to lead Midwestern State to a 59-44 win over UT Tyler Thursday night at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center. Brown finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Evan McCarthy scored each of his 13 points in the second half to pace MSU's attack. The Mustangs limited UT Tyler to 15 points in the first half. The output was the lowest by an opponent since Midwestern held a 26-11 lead over West Texas A&M on Feb. 6, 2013. The Patriots managed a 32.1 percent shooting night and were 4-of-22 from the arc.
 
YOU HAVE TO LEAD TO WIN…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all 11 games this season and has led in the second half in nine contests. In fact, the Mustangs have led for a combined 200 minutes this season or 44.9 percent of all games. Further, MSU has held leads in the final five minutes in eight games and in the final minute of regulation on six occasions. The Mustangs held the lead for more than half of the game in five of their last six outings.
  

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
Angelo State	34:31	13	ASU led only 2-0, 19:42/1st
Lubbock Christian	22:03	8	LCU took lead, 0:55/2nd
UT Tyler	30:29	15	UTT last lead, 12:50/1st

 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce meet for the 93rd time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at The Field House. The series is the second longest in MSU men's basketball history trailing only Texas Wesleyan (103 meetings). The Mustangs lead the overall series which began in 1947 by a 55-37 margin, but Texas A&M-Commerce has won the last four and six of the last seven. The Lions have won the last three games at the Field House dating back to MSU's 84-69 win in Commerce on Jan. 16, 2016.
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
Texas A&M-Commerce claimed victories over three teams ranked in the NABC Top 25 during its current run of winning six of seven games. During the stretch, the Lions own wins over No. 12 St. Edward's (86-78), No. 11 Missouri Southern (91-89/OT) and No. 10 Dallas Baptist (102-78). Texas A&M-Commerce is 6-0 on its home floor this season and 29-3 at The Field House during Jaret von Rosenberg's three-year tenure as head coach.  Senior forward Wayne Stewart paces the Lions scoring 17.9 points per game and has scored in double figures in eight of his nine games this season. The Philadelphia, Pa. native leads the LSC and ranks 11th nationally with a 66.7 field goal percentage. Stewart has scored at least 20 points in each of his last three games and in four of the last five. Junior guard Deon Barrett (16.5 ppg) leads the league and ranks 32nd in NCAA D2 connecting on 3.4 3-pointers per game. Senior guard Deonta Terrell gives the Lions a third double-figure scorer at 15.3 points per game. Overall, the Lions lead the LSC and rank 11th nationally with 4.9 blocked shots per game and are third in the league and 29th in D2 making 10.8 3-pointers a contest. Von Rosenberg sports a 54-22 record (.711) in his third season at the helm.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks amongst the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs top the LSC and ranks second in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 27.2 percent shooting from deep. Only three of MSU's 11 opponents have shot greater than 30.8 percent. The Mustangs also rank in the top half of the conference in blocked shots per game (2.7 / 8th), field goal percentage defense (42.2/2nd), 3-point field goals per game (9.5/5th) and 3-point field goal percentage (36.6/6th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its 11 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 20.4-9.6 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 12.4-8.8 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 268-130 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 (with at least seven makes) 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 has connected on 41 percent of his 3-point tries, while rating 15th in the league and 210th nationally knocking down 2.3 triples a game. Harris is 17th in the LSC in scoring at 14.5 points per game, but ranks as the 10th-best rebounder in the league pulling down 6.6 boards per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson is the Mustangs' second leading scorer at 13.8 points per game logging double figures in nine of MSU's 11 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 hit a 3-pointer in each game this season and is shooting 47.5 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with nine in his first 11 games. Thompson is 12th in the conference in field goal percentage.
 
TRAE BALL
Sophomore guard Trae Jones has buried 16 of his last 41 shots from beyond the arc (39 percent) during his current seven-game run connecting on at least one triple. The Wichita Falls native connected on multiple 3s in five of those seven games which includes a season-high 18-point effort at Western New Mexico (12/14) and an 11-point performance versus Lubbock Christian (12/21).
 
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 7.4 rebounds per game – the sixth most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
McBUCKETS GOOD UNDER THE DOME AND ON ROAD
Freshman guard Evan McCarthy buried four 3-pointers and scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the final seven minutes of Midwestern State's 80-74 win over Angelo State (12/19). The Mansfield, Texas native has scored in double figures in each of his first four games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. McCarthy buried three 3-pointers to score 14 points in his dome debut against West Texas A&M, then notched 12 points and dished out four assists against Texas Wesleyan. That is good for a 13.8 points per game average on the home floor. McCarthy delivered his third consecutive double-digit effort by scoring all 13 points in the second half in a 59-44 win at UT Tyler (1/2). McCarthy is shooting 52 percent from the field and is 15-of-28 from the arc (53.6) for the season.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for a Thursday night showdown with Lone Star Conference leading St. Edward's. Tipoff for Justin Leslie's 400th game as a collegiate head coach is set for 7:30 p.m.