Midwestern State vs. UT Tyler
Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Series: MSU leads 2-0
Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Weekly Stang Gang Men's Basketball Podcast with Justin Leslie
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State faces UT Tyler in a Lone Star Conference crossover series beginning Friday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
The Mustangs and Patriots close with a rematch Saturday afternoon beginning at 5:30 p.m.
 
CROWD RESTRICTIONS
Attendance for all weekend games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is limited to 25 percent capacity. All tickets must be purchased online at MSUTicketsOnline.com. The will be no walk-up sales. All spectators are required to wear face coverings at all times and practice social distancing of at least 6 feet.
 
EVENT COVERAGE
The game streams live on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. A video stream is available at the cost of $10 for a daily pass at LoneStarConferenceNetwork/msu. A complimentary audio stream is also available at the same site.
 
ALL ABOARD WITH COACH LESLIE
Justin Leslie started his second season at the helm of the Midwestern State men's basketball program with a sweep of Cameron last weekend in Lawton. The Mustangs battled to an 8-21 mark in 2019-20 but closed the regular season by winning four out of five games to qualify for the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament. Prior to MSU, Leslie posted a 266-121 overall record (.687) at Azusa Pacific leading the Cougars to nine 20-win campaigns, two Pacific West Conference titles, seven postseason tournament appearance and an NCAA Division II Elite Eight showing in 2015. Overall, Leslie owns a 280-143 mark (.662) in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach including a 14-22 record (.389) at MSU.
 
MUSTANGS TEAM NOTES
* Midwestern State opened the season with at least five consecutive wins for the first time since the 2011-12 squad rolled out to a 13-0 start. MSU's 6-1 record is the best mark through seven games since the 2016-17 squad was also 6-1.
* Midwestern State extended its run of games with at least one 3-pointer to 561 games dating back to the 2001-02 season. The Mustangs matched a school record burying 19 3-pointers in a 93-70 win at Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday in Belton. MSU connected at a 40.4-percent clip from beyond the arc on a school single-game record 47 attempts. The Mustangs matched a school record originally set against East Central (Okla.) during the 2008-09 season behind an individual record of 10 triples by All American Nolan Richardson.
* Midwestern State tops the Lone Star Conference and is third in all of NCAA Division II with 91 made 3-pointers this season. The Mustangs average 13 made triples per game which is three more than their single-game program record of 10 per game set last season. The 13 made triples per game rank second in NCAA Division II behind Glenville State, who is averaging 13.5 3s per contest in just three games. The Mustangs are also attempting nearly five more 3-pointers per game (33.4) than last season's record pace of 28.6 3-point attempts per game.
* Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 10th in NCAA Division II pulling down 15.9 offensive rebounds per game. The Mustangs have grabbed at least 14 offensive caroms per game this season with a high of 21 in a season opening win at Cameron (12/11). Midwestern has turned the offensive rebounds into 106 second-chance points through seven games -- 15.1 points a contest.
* Midwestern State ranks seventh in NCAA Division II and leads the LSC with a +12.4 rebound margin. The Mustangs have out-boarded opponents by a double-figure margin in five of seven games this season and have not been out-rebounded this season.
 
MUSTANGS INDIVIDUAL NOTES
* Sophomore guard Terrell Wilson buried a career-high four 3-pointers to notch 21 points on his 21st birthday in Saturday's win at Mary-Hardin Baylor. It was his second straight 20-point effort following up on a career-best 23 points with six rebounds, eight assists and six steals against St. Edward's (1/3). He leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game, seventh in the LSC at 3.9 assists and fourth in the league with 2.14 steals per game.
* Junior guard Derrick Ogechi has scored in double figures in each of his last three games and in six of seven games this season. He is coming off of his first double-double in Saturday's win at Mary Hardin-Baylor finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds with five made triples. Ogechi ranks seventh in the LSC with a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game and is seventh in the league knocking down 38.2 percent of his 3-pointers.
* Junior forward Luke Hamilton emerged as one of the top 3-point snipers in NCAA Division II. He leads the Lone Star Conference ranking 20th nationally with 3.57 made 3-pointers per game and is fourth in the league and 32nd nationally knocking down 50-percent of his attempts from the arc. Of Hamilton's 28 made field goals this season, 25 have come from 3-point range including a season-high six against St. Edward's (1/2) and five at Mary Hardin-Baylor (1/9). Hamilton is MSU's third leading scoring pouring in 11.9 points per game with a high of 22 points against St. Edward's (1/2).
* Freshman guard Rommell Williams chips in 11.6 points per game averaging an efficient 1.8 points per attempt. He is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from the arc (7-of-12). He is the Mustangs' most frequent visitor to the charity stripe knocking down 24 of his 32 attempts (75 percent).
* Freshman guard Pierre Sanders adds 10.9 points and ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference dishing out 4.3 assists per game. The Hutto High graduate is second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.73) and fifth in the LSC making two steals per game.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler was picked to finish 14th in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. The Patriots posted an 8-19 record in 2019-20 and are off to a 1-6 start this season. UT Tyler's lone win came against non-D2 foe Dallas Christian (106-67). The Patriots suffered league sweeps to UT Permian Basin, Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's. UT Tyler dropped the first games of the series by a margin of 19.6 points but narrowed the gap to 7.3 points in the second games. The games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum are the Patriots second and third road contests this season. Seniors Micah Fuller (14.9 ppg), Da'Zhon Wyche (12.7 ppg) and Solomon Thomas (11.0) average in double figures for UT Tyler. Louis Wilson sports a 9-25 record (.265) in his second season at the helm at UT Tyler. He was 95-46 (.674) in five seasons at Adams State from 2010-15.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and UT Tyler meet for the third and fourth times on the hardwood Friday and Saturday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs enjoyed a season sweep of the Patriots in the first two meetings last season beating UTT 59-44 in Tyler (1/2/20) and 68-65 in Wichita Falls (2/15/20).
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State is slated to face Dallas Baptist for a pair of games at Burg Center on Jan. 22 and 23 in Dallas. The Mustangs and Patriots play Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 3.