DALLAS, Texas – Midwestern State plays its first regular season game at the Burg Center Saturday afternoon when the Mustangs take on Dallas Baptist. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

NO RADIO BROADCAST
Saturday's game between Midwestern State and Dallas Baptist will not broadcast on ESPN 95.5 FM, but will be available on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.

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 night's matchup in 16th place in the LSC, but the Mustangs are just one game behind Cameron for the 12th and final berth in the tournament with seven games to play.
 

Lone Star Conference Men's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
West Texas A&M (22-1)	14-1
St. Edward's (20-2)	14-2
Texas A&M-Kingsville (17-5)	13-3
Angelo State (15-4)	11-4
Lubbock Christian (13-7)	10-5
Dallas Baptist (16-5)	10-5
Tarleton State (13-8)	9-6
Texas A&M-Commerce (13-8)	9-6
UT Permian Basin (15-10)	8-8
Eastern New Mexico (6-14)	6-9
Oklahoma Christian (7-12)	6-9
Cameron (6-15)	5-10
Arkansas-Fort Smith (9-12)	5-10
Western New Mexico (6-16)	5-11
St. Mary's (9-13)	5-11
Midwestern State (4-17)	4-11
Texas A&M International (3-19)	1-15
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (6-14)	3-12

  
LAST TIME OUT
Midwestern State fell in its final rivalry game against Tarleton State – 70-63 – Thursday night at Wisdom Gym. Senior D'monta Harris led the Mustangs by posting his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Trae Jones buried four triples to finish with 14 points. Senior guard Darius Thompson pitched in 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Zach Naylor scored 16 points off of the bench to pace the Texans.
 
YOU HAVE TO LEAD TO WIN…
Midwestern State has held an advantage in all 21 games this season and has led after halftime in 14 contests. The Mustangs have led for a combined 308 minutes this season or 36.2 percent of all games. Further, MSU has held leads in the final five minutes or overtime in 12 games and in the final minute of regulation or overtime on nine 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 Dallas Baptist meet for the 47th time on the hardwood Saturday night at Burg Center. The Mustangs own a 27-19 edge in the series which dates back to the 1968-69 season. This is just the second meeting between the programs since the turn over century. Dallas Baptist claimed an 88-83 win over the Mustangs in the 2008-09 season opener at D.L. Ligon Coliseum (11/15/08). Midwestern State won the next 42 games under the dome. MSU plays its first game against the Patriots in Dallas since winning 86-69 on Feb. 24, 1990.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
Dallas Baptist (16-5, 10-5) dropped four of six games before breaking with a 120-75 rout of Cameron Thursday night at Burg Center. The Patriots suffered setback to Oklahoma Christian (61-42), UT Permian Basin (83-78), Tarleton State (77-72) and St. Edward's (87-80) during the stretch before breaking the century mark for the third time this season. DBU buried a season-high 21 3-pointers Thursday night against Cameron getting five from Chandler Jacobs, four from Julian Miranda, two each from Carter Brown, Conner Lidiak, Carson Hughes, Tylan Dean and Artan Jabaar and one from Jalen White and Broc Wisenbaker. In all, nine different Patriots landed shots from beyond the arc needing just 36 total attempts. Jacobs leads a balanced scoring attack netting 15.7 points per game. He has scored 20-or-more points five times and is coming off of a season-high 32 Thursday night against Cameron. Lidiak scores 10.1 points per game, while senior guard/forward Jonathyn Washington chips in 10 points per game. DBU tops the Lone Star Conference with 10.5 steals per game and are third in field goal percentage (49.1 percent) and field goal percentage defense (42.5). Blake Flickner boasts a 260-169 record (.606) in his 14th season as head coach at DBU. He guided the Patriots to NCAA D2 regional appearances in 2009, 2016, 2018 and 2019. The Patriots also claimed an NCCAA national title in 2011.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
Midwestern State ranks amongst the best in defending the 3-point arc. The Mustangs rank second in the LSC and 15th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to 30.9 percent shooting from deep. Only eight of MSU's 21 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 (26.38 / 1st), field goal percentage defense (43.3 / 6th), free throw percentage (74.2 / 4th) and 3-point field goals per game (9.9 / 5th).
 
TRENDS
Midwestern State held leads in each of its 21 games this season including double-digit second half advantages against Colorado State-Pueblo, Central Missouri, UT Permian Basin, Angelo State, UT Tyler, Cameron and Texas A&M International. The opposition has outscored the Mustangs 18.2-10.3 in points off of turnovers per game this season and 11.7-9.1 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 50th in NCAA Division II averaging 9.9 made triples per game while connecting on 34.8 percent from beyond the arc as a team. MSU drilled at least 10 3-pointers on 11 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 nine times this season. As a program, Midwestern State has made at least one 3-pointer in 546 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 270-138 record (.662) 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. It is one of six 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 12 games this season. He ranks fifth in the LSC in 3-point percentage (39.4), sixth with 2.57 3-point makes per game and leads MSU in scoring at 15.1 points per game.
 
DARING DARIUS
Senior guard Darius Thompson ranks second on the Mustangs in scoring at 14.4 points per game logging double figures in 14 of his 17 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 15 of 17 games this season and is shooting 45 percent from the field. He has a knack for blocking shots with 14 in his 17 games.
 
TRAE BALL
Sophomore guard Trae Jones has connected on multiple 3-pointers in 11 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). He also made four 3-pointers to book 14 points at Tarleton State (2/6). Jones, who has tallied in double figures seven times this season, averages 7.6 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 6.5 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 8.3 points per game in his true freshman campaign. The Mansfield native has scored in double figures in seven 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. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field – all 3-pointers – on his way to 12 points against Texas A&M International (2/1). For the season, McCarthy is shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from the arc (30-of-72).
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State welcomes Texas A&M-Commerce to D.L. Ligon Coliseum Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.