NAMPA, Idaho -- 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).
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (0-3) vs. CENTRAL WASHINGTON (1-3)

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

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 2-0

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State last faced Central Washington in the second round of the 1993 NAIA Division I Basketball Tournament. The Mustangs advanced to the Elite Eight with a 78-74 triumph. Jason Paty scored 16 points to lead MSU. Corey Shead and Arthur Hurst each scored 13 in the victory. It was the first meeting between the two schools since MSU defeated Central Washington, 73-66, in the second round of the 1979 tournament.

LAST TIME OUT | Senior guard Malik Parsons scored eight consecutive points in the final 39 seconds and Northwestern Oklahoma overcame a six-point deficit late in the second half to defeat Midwestern State Thursday night in its home opener, 67-64. Northwestern Oklahoma scored the first 10 points of the game and led 22-6 with 13:12 to play in the first half. The Mustangs started the game shooting 2-of-13 from the field and missed their first five attempts from 3-point range. Parsons scored 10 of the first 22 points as the Rangers were 8 of 13 from the field to start the game and hit 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in the first 6:07 of the first half. Midwestern State rallied to tie the game 33-33 with 1:26 to play in the first half and only trailed by two at intermission, 35-33, despite shooting 27.3 percent from the field. MSU was 10 of 12 at the free-throw line in the first half and scored 10 second-chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. Northwestern shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, but went more than six minutes of the second half without scoring a point, allowing MSU to take a 58-52 lead with 4:37 remaining in the game. Parsons hit two free throws with 24 seconds remaining to bring the Rangers within one point, 64-63. A layup by Parsons with 19 seconds remaining put Northwestern in front 65-64. With five seconds remaining, Parsons stole an inbounds pass and was fouled. His two free throws secured a three-point lead and a Rangers' victory, which snapped the Mustangs' seven-game home winning streak.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is facing Central Washington in a regular season game for the first time…MSU won two previous meetings in NAIA Division I Basketball Tournament…Midwestern State was 1-2 in neutral site games last season…MSU has a four-game losing streak, dating back to last season…Justin Leslie is 301-168 in 16 seasons as a head coach…Leslie is 35-47 in his four seasons at Midwestern State…MSU is 1-3 in neutral site games under Leslie…MSU is 2-2 against teams currently in the GNAC and 0-1 in regular season games…Midwestern State beat Montana State – Billings, 69-66, in December of 1985…Western Washington defeated the Mustangs 64-63 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Tournament at Highland Heights, Ky.… Midwestern State is 16th in the LSC, averaging 63.7 points per game and shooting 34.1 percent from the field…MSU is 13th in the conference allowing 72.7 points per game and a 45.8 field goal percentage…MSU is third in the league and 45th in the nation with 26.7 3-point attempts per game…Mustangs are shooting 27.5 percent from beyond the arc…MSU is 10th in the LSC with 7.3 3-pointers per game…Mustangs are fourth in the LSC with 13.67 offensive rebounds per game and seventh with 36.67 total rebounds per game…Jermane Carter is fourth in the LSC and 14th nationally with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game…Pierre Sanders is 10th in the LSC with 2.67 offensive rebounds per game…Carter is 10th in the league with 7.3 rebounds per game, and Sanders is 11th in the LSC with 7.0 rebounds per game…MSU averages 6.7 steals, which is 12th in the LSC…Carter averages 2.0 steals per game, which is eighth in the LSC… Sanders is 12th in the conference wth 1.67 steals per game…Mustangs force 13 turnovers per game, which is 15th in the conference…. MSU is 49 of 66 from the foul line (74.2%), which is fourth-best in the conference…Mustangs are fifth in the LSC with 22 free-throw attempts per game… Carter is eighth in the league with 19 free-throw attempts…Derrick Ogechi is 9 of 10 (90%) for the free-throw line, which is the fifth-best percentage in the LSC…Sanders leads the Mustangs with 13.7 points per game…Ogechi is averaging 10.7 point per game…

SCOUTING CENTRAL WASHINGTON | Central Washington is 1-2 in neutral site games this season…Wildcats are coming off a 57-51 loss to Cal State LA as Camron McNeil scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting…Colby Gennett scored 10 points in the loss…Isaiah Banks grabbed seven rebounds in defeat…Brandon Rinta is 204-106 in 12 seasons as a head coach… Rinta is 48-44 in five seasons at Central Washington …CWU was 17-9 last season and appeared in the GNAC Championship game for the first time since 2011, but lost to Alaska-Fairbanks, 72-57, as Matt Poquette scored 25 points for the Wildcats…CWU is 10th in the GNAC, averaging 59.5 points per game and shooting 39.8% from the field…Opponents are shooting 41.9 percent, which is sixth in the conference…Wildcats allow 64.5 points per game —fourth in the conference and 48th in the nation…CWU is 44 of 59 from the free-throw line (74.6%), which is fourth best in the conference…Wildcats are 22-of-78 from 3-point range (28.2%), which is 10th in the conference… Camron McNeil, averaging 12.8 points per game, is shooting 58.3 percent from the field, which is fifth-best percentage in the GNAC…McNeil is 8 of 13 from 3-point range (61.5%)…CWU averages six steals per game, which is seventh in the GNAC…Wildcats are sixth in the conference forcing 13.5 turnovers per game, but turn the ball over 18.8 times per game, which is ninth-most in the GNAC…CWU is fifth in the league with 4.0 blocks per game…Samaad Hector is second in the GNAC with eight blocks through four games…CWU is narrowly outrebounding opponents, 35.8 - 35.0…Poquette is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, which is sixth in the conference….Poquette is third in the GNAC with 5.5 offensive rebounds per game…CWU is seventh in the league with 35.75 rebounds per game and 8.75 offensive rebounds per game…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State continues play in the NNU Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday as the Mustangs face the host — Northwest Nazarene. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Johnson Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.