Midwestern State vs. No. 9 St. Edward's
Sunday -- Jan. 3 -- 3:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Series: MSU leads 17-9
Listen | Watch | Live Stats
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State closes its Lone Star Conference crossover series against No. 9 St. Edward's Sunday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 3:30 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.
 
AGAINST NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS
Midwestern State snapped a 15-game slide against teams ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) Top 25 with a 92-81 win over No. 9 St. Edward's Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. It was the Mustangs' first win over a nationally ranked opponents since beating No. 11 West Texas A&M 84-78 on Jan. 5, 2017. MSU's last win against a Top 10-ranked opponent came against Tarleton State (66-63) on Jan. 13, 2016 -- also at Ligon Coliseum. Midwestern State is 40-71 all-time against teams ranked in the NABC Top 25 including a 15-37 mark against those ranked in the Top 10.
 
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 and an NCAA Division II Elite appearance in 2015. Overall, Leslie owns a 279-142 mark (.663) in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach including a 13-21 record (.382) at MSU.
 
MUSTANGS TEAM NOTES
* Midwestern State is 5-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 squad sprinted out to a 13-0 mark.
* After starting the 2020-21 season with five straight victories, the Mustangs have now won nine of their last 10 regular season games after closing the 2019-20 campaign by earning victories in four of the last five to qualify for the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament.
* Midwestern State extended its run of games with at least one 3-pointer to 559 games dating back to the 2001-02 season. The Mustangs buried at least 10 triples on 20 occasions since the start of the Justin Leslie era.
* The Mustangs connected on 15 3-pointers for the third time in the last two seasons on the way to a win over No. 9-ranked St. Edward's on Saturday. MSU achieved the feat twice last season going for 15 treys in wins over Texas A&M International (2/1/20) and Oklahoma Christian (2/22/20). The 15 3-pointers match the second most in program history, but are four off of the school record of 19 set in a 106-69 win over East Central (Okla.) on Jan. 5, 2009 when Nolan Richardson buried a school record 10 triples.
* Midwestern State is one of the top rebounding teams in NCAA Division II. The Mustangs top the nation with a +14.2 rebound margin, while ranking fifth in offensive rebounds per game (15.8). MSU has out-rebounded three of its five opponents by at least 12 boards.
* Midwestern State rates tops in the LSC while ranking 10th in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense (40.8) and 11th nationally in scoring defense (69.2).
 
MUSTANGS INDIVIDUAL NOTES
* Junior forward Luke Hamilton connected on four 3-pointers and scored 15 consecutive points for Midwestern State to ignite a 13-2 run to spin a six-point deficit into a five-point midway through the second half of Saturday's win over St. Edward's. Hamilton is second on the Mustangs in scoring at 12.8 points per game and ranks third in the LSC in 3-point field goal percentage (52.9) while leading the league with 18 total triples.
* Freshman Rommell Williams was nearly perfect in 24 minutes off of the bench Saturday against St. Edward's. The 6-2 guard connected on all six of his shots from the field including a pair of triples while going 7-of-10 from the line to finish with 21 points. He also grabbed six rebounds. Williams tops MSU in scoring at 13.4 points per game.
* Junior guard Derrick Ogechi poured in a season-high 18 points and matched a campaign best by hitting four 3-pointers. He also led the Mustangs with nine rebounds to boost his season averages to 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
* Freshman guard Pierre Sanders boasted a team-best plus-26 in 30 minutes on the court Saturday against St. Edward's. The Hutto High School grad finish with eight points, five rebounds and five assists.
* Sophomore guard Terrell Wilson struggled from field by going 1-for-6, but made solid contributions with six rebounds and six assists in 23 minutes of court time.
 
ABOUT THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's was picked to finish fourth in the race for the 2020-21 Lone Star Conference title. The Hilltoppers claimed a nameless LSC division title a season ago rolling to a 27-4 overall mark including a 19-3 run through league play. SEU opened the season with wins over Texas A&M International on Dec. 11-12 and had crossover series against West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Commerce postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. The Hilltoppers are led by a pair of Division I transfers. Junior guard Daniel Venzant (Cal State Fullerton) averages 20.3 points, while senior forward B.J. Maxwell (Detroit Mercy) scores 18.7 points a contest. Senior sharpshooter Ryan Garza has connected on 9-of-19 from 3-point range (47.4 percent) scoring 13 points per game. Andre Cook boasts a 193-135 record (.588) in his 12th season at the helm at St. Edward's.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and St. Edward's meet for the 27th time on the hardwood Sunday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs own a 17-9 edge in the series that dates back to the 1959-60 season. MSU has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the programs, but the Mustangs and Hilltoppers have met just six times since the turn over the century. Midwestern State has won nine of the 11 meetings played against St. Edward's at D.L. Ligon Coliseum after rolling to a 92-81 win over the Hilltoppers on Saturday night.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State plays a pair of non-conference games against Western New Mexico on Jan. 10-11 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.