PUEBLO, Colorado -- Midwestern State opens the 2022-23 season with a non-conference game against Colorado State-Pueblo in the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge at Massari Arena. Mustangs and Thunderwolves tip off Friday at 8:30 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE vs. COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO

Friday | 8:30 p.m.
Massari Arena | Pueblo, Colorado

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 5-4

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State's Terrell Wilson poured in a game-high 21 points allowing the Mustangs to overcome hard charging Colorado State-Pueblo 77-64 in the Ashbrook Classic at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last season. The Mustangs allowed a 20-point to dwindle away before scoring nine consecutive points to re-establish a double-digit lead with three minutes to play. Jermane Carter finished with nine points and grabbed 10 of his 11 rebounds on the offensive end of the floor. Carter also provided the highlight of the night, tossing a ball off of the glass for a two-handed slam late in the first half.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State's woes at the free throw line in the first half snowballed in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament semifinals at Comerica Center in Frisco last season. The Mustangs misfired on 10-of-11 free throws before halftime and West Texas A&M took advantage to build a commanding 18-point deficit. That lead snowballed into an 87-55 win for the Buffs, who advanced to the LSC finals for the fifth straight year. Midwestern State finished the game going 4-of-17 from the charity stripe (23.5 percent). Pierre Sanders paced the Mustangs with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers, while Jermane Carter added nine points.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 52-24 in season openers dating back to its first season as a four-year institution in 1946-47… MSU was 16-15 last season with a 5-9 record on the road…Justin Leslie begins his fourth season as head coach at Midwestern State, where he is 35-44…Leslie has a career record of 301-165, spending his first 12 seasons as a head coach at Aszusa Pacific…Midwestern State averaged 68.5 points per game last season…Opponents were held to 68.1 points per game against the Mustangs in 2021-22…MSU shot 43 percent from the field last season and held opponents to 42.5 percent shooting…Mustangs shot 31.3 percent from 3-point range (222-of-710) last season…Opponents shot 34.8 percent from beyond the arc (248-of-712) a season ago…MSU outrebounded the opposition, 37.3 rebounds per game to 32.8 boards per contest in 2021-22…Midwestern scored 13.4 points off 11.4 turnovers per game last season…MSU averaged 12.6 turnovers last season and foes scored 13.7 points off turnovers…Jermane Carter averaged 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season…Carter had 22 steals and 23 blocks in 31 games — all starts for the Mustangs….Pierre Sanders averaged 10.8 points per game last season and dished out 69 assists in 26 appearances…Amaechi Chukwu averaged 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 30 games for the Mustangs in 2021-22…Luke Hamilton has shot 34.8 percent (94-of-270) from 3-point range in his two seasons at MSU…John Weger, Sanders and Jordan Teal all took at least 35 free throw attempts last season and shot 80 percent or better…MSU shot 72.4 percent (355-of-490) at the free-throw line last season…

SCOUTING COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO | CSU-Pueblo was 12-16 with a 7-8 record at home…Matt Hammer is 26-48 in three seasons as head coach at CSU-Pueblo…Thunderwolves are picked to finish in eighth place according to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coaches Poll…CSU-Pueblo scored 76.6 points per game last season and its opponents scored 77.9 ppg…Thunderwolves shot 48.4 percent from the field and their opponents shot 45.7 percent…CSU-Pueblo averaged 6.8 3-pointers per game in 2021-22 and shot 34 percent from beyond the arc…Thunderwolves only hit 67 percent of their free throws last season…CSU-Pueblo outrebounded opponents last season, 35.0 rebounds to 34.4 boards per game…Thunderwolves allowed 14.6 points off 12.0 turnovers per game last season and scored 10.5 points off 10.3 turnovers a game…Lian Ramiro averaged 17.8 points per game and dished out 105 assists in 28 games —all starts—last season…Elijah Moleon transferred to CSU-Pueblo from Angelo State before last season and averaged 11.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game…Meekness Payne scored 11.5 ppg for the Thunderwolves last season and grabbed 4.2 rebounds a game…Tristan Hurdle appeared in all 28 games as a freshman and average 8.1 ppg, hitting 43-of-133 (.323) from 3-point range…Micah Lamberth shot .549 from the field last season and averaged 7.8 ppg…Isaiah Thompson shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 39.1 percent from 3-point range, and scored 7.8 ppg last season…De'Shaun Cooper shot .683 from the field and averaged 7.7 ppg in 2021-22…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State travels 45 miles north to Colorado Springs for a meeting with UC Colorado Springs on Saturday. Tipoff at Gallogly Events Center is scheduled for 8 p.m.