MIDWESTERN STATE (11-7)
at DALLAS BAPTIST (15-3)
Tuesday, March 2 -- 7 p.m.
Burg Center (Dallas, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 27-22
 
DALLAS -- Midwestern State battles Dallas Baptist in the Lone Star Conference quarterfinals Tuesday night at Burg Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
The winner moves on to play either West Texas A&M or UT Permian Basin at a site and time to be determined Friday night in the semifinal round.

ABOUT THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT

The Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament begins with a field of eight Tuesday night at campus sites. The winners advance to the semifinal and final rounds to be played at the highest remaining seed on Friday and Saturday. However, Lubbock Christian earned the No. 1 seed in both the men's and women's tournament and by league rule will not be permitted to host both tournaments. This year, the women's tournament is given preference so the men's tournament will go to the site of the next highest seed.
    
FIVE STORY LINES
  
1 |  Midwestern State boasts a 28-12 (.700) record in 19 LSC Postseason Tournament appearances. The Mustangs are 12-6 in the quarterfinal round, 9-3 in the semifinals and 7-2 in the final round. MSU fell in the first round (of 12) in 2020 at Lubbock Christian. MSU claimed LSC Postseason Tournament titles in 1999, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2016.
    
2 |  Midwestern State boasts an 11-7 record heading into Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament play. The mark clinches the program's first winning season since the 2015-16 squad earned South Central Region hosting privileges with a 24-6 mark. The breakdown of the seven losses is very intriguing. Five of MSU's seven losses have come to teams ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) Top 25. Four of the seven losses were by one point, in overtime or both. The Mustangs suffered back-to-back one-point setbacks at No. 15 DBU, another one-point loss in OT to No. 14 Lubbock Christian and an overtime loss to No. 9 St. Edward's.
 
3 |  Midwestern State extended its run of games with at least one 3-pointer to 572 games by hitting nine triples in Saturday's win at UT Permian Basin. The Mustangs are one of the premier 3-point shooting teams in NCAA Division II topping the LSC and ranking fourth nationally with 11.6 made triples per game. Juniors Luke Hamilton (3.28) and Derrick Ogechi (2.83) rate second and third in the LSC and 12th and 33rd, respectively, in NCAA Division II in made 3-pointers per game.
 
4 |  Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference and rates 16th nationally with a +6.8 rebound margin. The opposition has out-rebounded the Mustangs twice in 18 games this season, while MSU has controlled at least a +10 edge on the glass seven times. Midwestern attacks the boards relentlessly as a team as five players average at least 4.4 rebounds per game led by junior Jermane Carter (7.8), junior Jalin Brown (6.0), junior Luke Hamilton (5.8), junior Derrick Ogechi (5.7), and freshman Pierre Sanders (4.4). Carter tops the LSC and ranks fifth in NCAA Division II grabbing 4.62 offensive rebounds per game. Carter posted double-doubles in two of his last three games averaging 18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds during the stretch.
 
5 |  Junior Derrick Ogechi broke out of a shooting slump to bury seven of his 14 shots from beyond the arc in last week's sweep of UT Permian Basin. He knocked three of his six 3-point attempts in Thursday win to finish with nine points and four assists, then buried four of his eight attempts on Saturday to finish with a team-high 18 points. Ogechi uncharacteristically struggled through 19.3-percent shooting from beyond the arc over the previous five games going 6-for-31 from beyond the arc.
 
HEAD COACH JUSTIN LESLIE is in the midst of his second season at the helm of the Midwestern State men's basketball program. 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 285-149 mark (.657) in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach including a 19-28 record (.404) at MSU.
     
THE SERIES WITH THE PATRIOTS
  
Midwestern State and DBU meet for the 50th time on the hardwood Tuesday night at Burg Center. The Mustangs own a 27-22 edge in the series which dates back to the 1968-69 campaign, but DBU has won the last four meetings between the programs. In fact, the Mustangs haven't beaten the Patriots since claiming an 86-69 win on Feb 24, 1990. That's because Dallas Baptist shelved its program in the early 90s before reviving it in 2005. The Patriots have won each meeting since including an 88-83 win in the 2008-09 season opener at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The teams didn't play again until 2019-20 season when DBU rolled to a 102-72 win. The Mustangs battled within a single point on consecutive nights earlier this season before falling 81-80 on Jan. 22 and 91-90 on Jan. 23.