CANYON, Texas – Midwestern State continues its battle to qualify for the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Thursday night at No. 3-ranked West Texas A&M. Tipoff at the First United Bank Center 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 enters Thursday night's matchup tied for 13th place in the LSC, but the Mustangs are just a half-game back of St. Mary's for the 12th and final berth in the tournament with two games to play.
 

Lone Star Conference Men's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
West Texas A&M (27-1)	19-1
St. Edward's (24-3)	18-3
Angelo State (18-6)	14-6
Lubbock Christian (17-8)	14-6
Texas A&M-Kingsville (18-8)	14-6
Dallas Baptist (19-7)	13-7
Tarleton State (16-10)	12-8
Texas A&M-Commerce (16-10)	12-8
UT Permian Basin (15-14)	8-12
Cameron (9-17)	8-12
Oklahoma Christian (9-15)	8-12
St. Mary's (12-15)	8-13
Eastern New Mexico (7-18)	7-13
Midwestern State (7-19)	7-13
Arkansas-Fort Smith (11-15)	7-13
Western New Mexico (7-19)	6-14
Texas A&M International (3-23)	1-19
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (8-17)	5-15

  
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore guard Trae Jones connected on five 3-pointers and led Midwestern State at plus-20 in a 73-68 win over Oklahoma Christian Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Jones' barrage from the arc helped the Mustangs shoot in 15 triples while shooting 42.9 percent from deep. Senior D'monta Harris delivered eighth performance with 20-or-more points by hitting three 3-pointers to finish with exactly 20 points. Senior guard Elijah Lee threatened a double-double with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while fellow senior Darius Thompson had 11 points and six assists. Freshman Daniel Mosley produced a plus-17 effort in 14 minutes off of the bench finishing with six points.
 
OFFENSIVE EFFIENCY = WINS
When Midwestern State hits the magical plateau of 1.30 points per shot, the Mustangs win. MSU is 6-3 this season when obtaining the goal and 1-16 when the Mustangs do not. During the current three-game winning streak, MSU is shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 13 made triples per game. In fact, 52.5 percent of Midwestern's total shots have come from beyond the arc during the three victories.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 74th time on the hardwood Thursday night at First United Bank Center. The Buffs are riding a series-long, six-game winning streak over the Mustangs. MSU last beat WT, 84-78 on Jan. 5, 2017, which concluded a run of eight of nine wins for the Mustangs. WT has won the last three meetings between the programs played in Canyon with Midwestern's most recent victory coming 74-65 on Jan. 6, 2016. MSU is 9-28 all-time against the Buffs in games played in Canyon and are 4-13 since the First United Bank Center opened in 2002.
 
ABOUT THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M rides the longest home court winning streak in all NCAA divisions into Thursday night's game against Midwestern State. The Buffs have won 40 consecutive games since falling to Tarleton State – 82-74 – on Jan. 18, 2018. The streak is three longer than Gonzaga's 37-game streak at McCarthey Athletic Center. WT's current 18-game winning streak is the fourth longest in NCAA Division II. Interestingly, the Buffs dealt Lincoln Memorial a loss in the season opener. Since, the Railsplitters reeled off an all-divisions best 27-game game winning streak. West Texas A&M's only loss came at St. Edward's. The Hilltoppers own the third longest home winning streak in NCAA Division II at 29 games. WT is paced by sophomores Qua Grant (21.0 ppg) and JoJo Murray (19.6 ppg), but the Buffs boast six players averaging between 5.1 and 9.8 points per game. Tom Brown sports a 157-40 record (.797) in his sixth season at the helm at West Texas A&M.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks among the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs rank third in the LSC and 26th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 31.9 percent shooting from deep. Only 11 of MSU's 26 opponents have shot greater than 32.1 percent. The Mustangs also rank in the top half of the conference in defensive rebounds per game (25.65 / 6th), free throw percentage (74.0 / 4th) and 3-point field goals per game (10.3 / 4th).
 
RAINING 3s
Midwestern State connected on at least seven 3-pointers in all but one game this season. The Mustangs rank fourth in the Lone Star Conference and 36th in NCAA Division II averaging 10.3 made triples per game while connecting on 36.1 percent from beyond the arc as a team. MSU drilled at least 10 3-pointers on 16 occasions as a team including a season-high 15 treys at Texas A&M International (2/1) and against Oklahoma Christian (2/22). The Mustangs have attempted at least 30 3-pointers 11 times this season. As a program, Midwestern State has made at least one 3-pointer in 551 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 272-140 record (.660) 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 eight 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 16 games this season. He ranks third in the LSC in 3-point percentage (40.4), fifth with 2.77 3-point makes per game and leads MSU in scoring at 16.3 points per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson ranks second on the Mustangs in scoring at 14.1 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 43.2 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with a team-high 18 in his 21 games.
 
TRAE BALL
Sophomore guard Trae Jones has connected on multiple 3-pointers in 14 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), then connected on five more triples for 15 points against Oklahoma Christian (2/22). 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 10 times this season, averages 8.5 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 6.0 rebounds per game – the 15th most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State faces Eastern New Mexico in its regular season finale Saturday afternoon at Greyhound Arena. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Central Time).