WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State battles Oklahoma Christian in its regular season home finale Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. 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 afternoon's matchup in 15th place in the LSC, but the Mustangs are a game behind Eastern New Mexico, Cameron and Arkansas-Fort Smith for the 12th and final berth in the tournament with three games to play.
   

Lone Star Conference Men's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
West Texas A&M (26-1)	18-1
St. Edward's (23-3)	17-3
Texas A&M-Kingsville (18-7)	14-5
Angelo State (17-6)	13-6
Lubbock Christian (16-8)	13-6
Dallas Baptist (18-7)	12-7
Tarleton State (16-9)	12-7
Texas A&M-Commerce (16-9)	12-7
UT Permian Basin (15-13)	8-11
Oklahoma Christian (9-14)	8-11
St. Mary's (12-14)	8-12
Eastern New Mexico (7-17)	7-12
Cameron (8-17)	7-12
Arkansas-Fort Smith (11-14)	7-12
Midwestern State (6-19)	6-13
Western New Mexico (6-19)	5-14
Texas A&M International (3-22)	1-18
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (7-17)	4-15

  
LAST TIME OUT
Senior guard D'Monta Harris buried seven triples and erupted for 34 points to lift Midwestern State to a 79-71 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs shot 47.3 percent from the field including 12-of-22 accuracy from beyond the arc, while holding UAFS to 34.5-percent shooting including a 1-of-9 run from beyond the arc in the second half. Midwestern took control of the game with 17-0 run early in the second half to offset a 42-point performance from UAFS senior Brian Halums. The output was the third highest of any opponent against the Mustangs in the history of D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Senior guard Darius Thompson (19 points, 8 rebounds) and sophomore forward Jalin Brown (12 points, 4 rebounds) also notched double figures for the Mustangs.
 
YOU HAVE TO LEAD TO WIN…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all 25 games this season and has led after halftime in 16 contests. The Mustangs have led for a combined 360 minutes this season or 35.6 percent of all games. Further, MSU has held leads in the final five minutes or overtime in 14 games and in the final minute of regulation or overtime on 11 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 Oklahoma Christian meet for the 37th time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Eagles snapped a five-game slide to MSU with a 64-60 win earlier this season in Oklahoma City. In that game, Aubrey Johnson buried nine 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 35 points, while senior forward Will Lienhard had seven points and 15 rebounds. Midwestern State owns an 8-3 edge against OC in games played at D.L. Ligon Coliseum including victories in each of the last three games. Oklahoma Christian's last win under the dome came by an 86-73 count on Nov. 30, 1982.
 
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Oklahoma Christian dropped three of its last five games since closing January with a home sweep of Midwestern State and Cameron. The Eagles are 3-9 on the road the season and have lost five of their last six away from The Nest. Senior forward Dedrian Parmer, Jr. paces OC scoring 15.7 points and grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game. Parmer scored double figures in all 23 games this season including a campaign high of 27 points against St. Mary's. Senior guard Aubrey Johnson adds 14.8 points per game shooting 40 percent from the arc. The Mustang, Okla. native drilled nine 3-points to finish with a career-high 35 points earlier this season against Midwestern State. Kendre Talley in his first season as head coach at his alma mater where he competed for the Eagles from 2010-14.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks among the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs rank third in the LSC and 24th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 31.7 percent shooting from deep. Only 10 of MSU's 24 opponents have shot greater than 32.1 percent. The Mustangs also rank in the top half of the conference in defensive rebounds per game (25.64 / 6th), free throw percentage (74.8 / 3rd) and 3-point field goals per game (10.1 / 5th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its 24 games this season including double-digit second half advantages against Colorado State-Pueblo, Central Missouri, UT Permian Basin, Angelo State, UT Tyler, Cameron, Texas A&M International, UT Tyler and Arkansas-Fort Smith. The opposition has outscored the Mustangs 18.2-10.6 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 11.5-9.1 in second-chance points. Midwestern posted a season-high 22 points off of turnovers against Texas A&M International (2/1). The Mustangs had a campaign-best 14 second-chance points against Central Missouri and matched it against St. Mary's, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International.
 
RAINING 3s
Midwestern State connected on at least seven 3-pointers in all but one game this season. The Mustangs rank fifth in the Lone Star Conference and 41st in NCAA Division II averaging 10.1 made triples per game while connecting on 35.8 percent from beyond the arc as a team. MSU drilled at least 10 3-pointers on 15 occasions as a team including a season-high 15 treys at Texas A&M International (2/1). The Mustangs have attempted at least 30 3-pointers 10 times this season. As a program, Midwestern State has made at least one 3-pointer in 550 consecutive games dating back to the 2001-02 season.
 
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 271-140 record (.659) 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. Harris added a second 30-point effort going for 34 points with seven triples in a 79-71 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith on Feb. 20.  It is two of seven 20-point performances this season for the Pontiac, Mich. native. Harris ripped the nets for 20 points against Texas Wesleyan with four 3-pointers in the game prior to his outbreak at UCO. He scored at least 20 points in three consecutive outings going for six 3s and 22 points at Arkansas-Fort Smith (1/25), 22 points and three 3-pointers against Texas A&M-Kingsville and six treys and 26 points in just 25 minutes against Texas A&M International (2/1). Harris has connected on multiple 3-pointers in 15 games this season. He ranks third in the LSC in 3-point percentage (40.6), fifth with 2.76 3-point makes per game and leads MSU in scoring at 16.2 points per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson ranks second on the Mustangs in scoring at 14.3 points per game logging double figures in 17 of his 21 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 19 of 21 games this season and is shooting 43.5 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with a team-high 17 in his 21 games.
 
TRAE BALL
Sophomore guard Trae Jones has connected on multiple 3-pointers in 13 games this season. He enjoyed a career game knocking down six 3-pointers on his way to a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Texas A&M-Commerce (2/13). Jones buried six triples to finish with a collegiate-high 19 points against Cameron (1/19), then connected on 5-of-10 from beyond the arc to score 15 at Dallas Baptist (2/8). 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). He also made four 3-pointers to book 14 points at Tarleton State (2/6). Jones, who has tallied in double figures nine times this season, averages 8.2 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 6.1 rebounds per game – the 17th most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State hits the road to take on Lone Star Conference leading West Texas A&M Thursday night at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.