WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State hosts Northwestern Oklahoma for its home opener on Thursday. Tip-off at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (0-2) vs. NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA  (0-0)

Thursday, Nov. 17 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 3-0

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State's dynamic guard duo of Chris Hagan and Michael Loyd combined for 48 points to lift Midwestern State to an 86-69 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State when they met at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in December of 2010. It was the 34th consecutive home victory for the Mustangs. The streak eventually extended to 41 before the Mustangs suffered a loss under the dome. Northwestern Oklahoma State took it to the Mustangs in the opening half as the teams exchanged the lead 16 times. The Rangers led 38-35 at the break. Hagan poured in 18 of his game-high 28 points in the opening half. MSU scored the final eight points of the game to close out NWOSU. Loyd would finish with a season-high 20 points - all in the second half. Deuce Nichols pitched in 13 points and David Terrell added 12 points off of the bench. Orren Tims paced the Rangers with 21 points while Marshell Bell knocked down four treys to finish with 16.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State rallied but could not overtake UC Colorado Springs, falling to the Mountain Lions 72-68 Saturday night at Gallogly Events Center. UC Colorado Springs used a 19-1 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a nine-point lead. The Mustangs assumed their largest lead of the game after Marquis Davison put back his own missed free throw to give MSU a 38-29 advantage with two minutes remaining in the first half. UC Colorado Springs shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and buried six 3-pointers to surge to a 10-point advantage. Kyle Cabs' transition layup gave the Mountain Lions a 57-47 lead with 10:40 to play. The Mustangs would chip away behind the efforts of Jordan Teal (10 points in the second half), Pierre Sanders (8 of the Mustangs' 30 points in the second half.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State makes its home debut after losing twice in the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge in Colorado…MSU was 10-4 at home last season and has won its last seven games under the dome…Mustangs last home loss was to St. Mary's, 59-55, on Jan. 8, 2021…MSU is 16-7 at home over the last two seasons…Midwestern State is 21-15 at home under the direction of head coach Justin Leslie…Leslie is 301-167 in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 35-46 under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Midwestern State is averaging 63.5 points through the first two games…Mustangs have allowed 75.5 points per game…MSU is shooting 36.8% from the field (43 of 117)…Opponents are shooting 50.9% (58 of 114)…Midwestern is shooting 29.6% from 3-point range (16 of 54)…Mustangs are second in the conference with 27 attempts from 3-point range per game…Opponents are shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc (14 of 36)…MSU is 25 of 37 at the free-throw line (67.6 %)…Opponents are 21 of 27 from the foul line (77.8%)…MSU is eighth in the LSC with 32 rebounds per game and fourth in the league with 11 offensive rebounds per game…Opponents are averaging 35 rebounds per game…MSU is eighth in the conference with 13 turnovers per game...Mustangs are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game, which is 11th in the LSC… Pierre Sanders leads MSU with 13.0 points per game… Jermane Carter and Luke Hamilton are averaging 8.5 points per game…Derrick Ogechi and Mason Gibson are averaging 8.0 points per game… Carter is second in the LSC with six steals, and Sanders is fifth in the conference with five steals…Sanders is 10th in the LSC with 6.5 rebounds per game…Carter is fifth in the league with 3.5 assists per game…Carter is 9 of 13 at the free-throw line, which is the fourth-most made free throws and the third most attempts in the LSC…Hamilton is 5 of 12 from 3-point range (41.7%), which is seventh-most 3-point shots made and the 10th best percentage in the LSC…Gibson is 4 of 9 from the field (44.4 %), including 3 of 7 from 3-point range (42.9%), and he is 5 of 5 from the free-throw line (100%)…MSU has outscored opponents in the first half, 67-63, but the Mustangs have been outscored in the second half, 88-60…

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA | NWOSU had scheduled season-opening games in Bismarck, North Dakota — against Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma — as part of the Central Region Challenge, but those two games were canceled due to travel issues presented by inclement weather… Rangers were 20-9 last season with a 5-7 record on the road…Southern Arkansas defeated the Rangers in the quarterfinals of the GAC tournament last season, 72-63… NWOSU lost its only previous visit, 86-69, in December of 2010…Robbie Harman makes his debut as the NWOSU head coach, replacing Vinay Patel, who replaces Cinco Boone at Angelo State this season…Patel was 33-39 in three seasons at Northwestern Okla… Harman has spent the last five years at Davenport University as an assistant coach where he was the team's defensive coordinator, along with being in charge of recruiting, scouting opponents, academic assistance, team's social media, and alumni/ fan newsletter… Harman was a two sport athlete Central Michigan, where he played four years of baseball and basketball… Harman was a part of two NCAA Division I MAC West Division Championships, and he reached the 1,000 point mark, leading the NCAA in three-pointers made per game in 2010 with 3.5 per game… Harman achieved second team all MAC honors in 2010… Malik Parsons and Larry White were each named to the GAC honorable mention team last season...Parsons played 30.2 minutes a game and averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Rangers last season, starting 27 of 29 games…Parsons shot 49.6 percent from the field (121 of 244)…White started 28 of 29 games last season and averaged 24.5 minutes per game…White averaged 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game…White had 21 blocks and 57 steals last season…White led the GAC with 1.97 steals per game …Brian Free started 28 of 29 games last season and averaged 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.89 assists per game…Free shot 43.4% from the field (105 of 242) and 42.8% from 3-point range (77 of 180), which led the conference and was 19th in the nation…Free was 53 of 59 at the foul line (89.8%)…NWOSU averaged 75.5 points per game and allowed 69.1 points per game last season…Rangers shot 47.6 for the field overall and 34% from 3-point range, making 6.9 3-pointers per game…Rangers led the GAC with 7.9 steals per game…NWOSU led the conference in free throws made and free throws attempted — but eighth in the league at 70% (444 of 634)…Rangers blocked 4.9 shots per game last season, which was sixth most in the country last season…Rangers' 143 total blocks was fifth in the nation last season…Northwestern was fourth in the GAC with 13.6 assists per game…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State is on the road for the NNU Thanksgiving Classic in Nampa, Idaho. The Mustangs face Central Washington on Friday, Nov. 25 at 3:15 p.m. (CST). MSU will battle the Nighthawks of Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (CST)