THE LEAD >>>
NAMPA, Idaho -- Midwestern State held off Central Washington's furious rally to claim its first win of the season -- 69-67 -- Friday afternoon in the NNU Thanksgiving Classic at the Johnson Sports Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED >>>
Midwestern State shot a season-best 46.6 percent from the field and constructed a 63-49 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to play.
But Central Washington transfer Camron McNeil buried four 3-pointers over the final three minutes to pull the Wildcats to within 68-67 lead with six seconds to play.
Midwestern State received a benefit
Jermane Carter was fouled on a 3-point attempt with the shot clock winding down with 26 seconds to play. Carter hit two of the three free throws before McNeil connected on his last triple.
The Wildcats immediate
John Weger, who missed the front of the bonus but CWU's Matt Poquette collided with Carter on the rebound and stumbled onto the baseline allowing the Mustangs to keep possession of the ball.
Luke Hamilton connected on one of two free throws with a second remaining allowing Midwestern State to escape with the win.
LEADERS >>>
- Midwestern State senior forward
Jermane Carter booked a season-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.
- Junior guard
Marquis Davison scored a season-high 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The transfer from Wallace State-Selma (Ala.) added four rebounds.
- Junior guard
Pierre Sanders scored in double figures for the fourth straight game finishing with 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
- Senior forward
Luke Hamilton led the Mustangs with seven rebounds. He also scored six points and dished out three assists to finish with a team-high plus-13 in 30 minutes of court time.
- Central Washington senior forward Matt Poquette scored a season-high 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while hauling in eight rebounds.
- CWU junior Camron Radford drilled a campaign-high five 3-pointers -- four in the final three minutes of the game -- to score 15 points to up his season scoring average to 13.2 per game.
UP NEXT >>>
Midwestern State closes the NNU Thanksgiving Classic Saturday night against host Northwest Nazarene. Tipoff at Johnson Sports Center is set for 8:30 p.m. (Central Time).
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-- MSUMustangs.com --
