LUBBOCK, Texas -- Midwestern State continues a pivotal road trip at Rip Griffin Center for a New Year's Day showdown with Lubbock Christian. Tipoff is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (4-7, 2-4) vs. LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (8-3, 4-1)

Sunday, Jan. 1 | 3 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center | Lubbock, Texas

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 28-14

LAST MEETING | Lubbock Christian's Parker Hicks spurred a critical run in the first half and matched a season high with 25 points to lead the top-ranked Chaps to a 66-52 win over Midwestern State last season at Rip Griffin Center. "The only disappointment I had tonight was that we weren't at our best tonight. You are left with shoulda, coulda, woulda," MSU coach Justin Leslie said. "I was pleased defensively, but we couldn't find ways to score tonight." Senior forward Jalin Brown matched a season high with 10 points and pulled down five rebounds, while freshman Amaechi Chukwu delivered his fifth double-digit scoring night in the last six games with a duplicate line of 10 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Terrell Wilson eclipsed 700 career points finishing the game with nine points. Midwestern State snapped a string of five straight game shooting better than 40 percent as a team finishing at 37.5 percent. The Mustangs were limited to season low two made 3-pointers on 17 attempts.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State gave West Texas A&M all it wanted Friday night. But the Mustangs came up short, falling 72-71 at First United Bank Center. Midwestern State senior Derrick Ogechi connected on 7-of-14 shots with four 3-pointers finishing with campaign bests of 20 points and six rebounds. MSU junior guard Pierre Sanders matched a season high with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He added six rebounds and three assists. MSU's Marquis Davison added 14 points and five rebounds. The Mustangs outscored the Buffs by 10 points with Davison on the floor. MSU senior Jermane Carter scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Midwestern Sate shot better than 50 percent for the second consecutive game finishing the night at 50.9 percent (27-of-53). The Mustangs shot fewer than 20 3-pointers for the second time this season hitting 7-of-16 shots from the arc. The percentage (43.8) was the team's best of the season.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 2-5 on the road this season… Mustangs had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 72-71 loss at West Texas A&M…MSU is 10-9 as the visitor in the series and 0-3 at Rip Griffin Center…MSU has lost its last four visits …Mustangs last win in Lubbock came in January of 1993, 103-92…Justin Leslie is 306-172 (.640) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 40-51 (.440) under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…MSU is 0-5 against Lubbock Christian in the Leslie era…Entering the two-game road trip: Midwestern State is 15th in the conference, averaging 69.0 points… Mustangs are third in the LSC and 29th in the nation, allowing opponents to score 64.2 points per game… +4.8 scoring margin is 11th in the league… Pierre Sanders leads MSU with 10.6 points per game… Marquis Davison is averaging 10.5 points per game…Jermane Carter is averaging 10.1 points per game…Luke Hamilton is averaging 8.4 points per game…MSU is 14th in the LSC, shooting 42.5 percent from the field (278 of 654)…Davison is shooting 54.8 percent from the field (46 of 84)… John Weger is shooting 54.3 percent from the field (19 of 35)…Jordan Teal is shooting 51.9 percent from the field (27 of 52)…Midwestern is third in the league, holding opponents to 40.5 percent (272 of 672) shooting from the field…Midwestern is shooting 27.9 percent from 3-point range (78 of 280), 16th in the LSC… Ogechi is 17 of 66 (.258) from 3-point range and second in the conference in attempts from beyond the arc…Hamilton is 21 of 60 from 3-point range (.350) and seventh in the league in 3-point attempts…Mustangs are fourth in the conference and 54th in the nation with 25.5 attempts from 3-point range per game…MSU is second in the conference and 12th in the nation by holding opponents to 27.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc (69 of 248)… MSU is eighth in the league with 13.3 assists per game… Carter averages 2.9 assists per game, and Sanders is averaging 2.7 assists per game … MSU is 125 of 181 at the free-throw line (.691), 12th in the LSC in free-throw percentage…Mustangs are 11th in the conference with 16.5 free-throw attempts per game…MSU is 13th in the league with 11.4 made free throws per game… Carter is 32 of 49 from the free-throw line, 13th in the LSC for made free throws and ninth in the league in attempts… Opponents are 93 of 139 from the foul line (.669)…Midwestern State has outrebounded six of its opponents this season…MSU is second in the LSC and 50th in the nation with 39.18 rebounds per game… Midwestern State is sixth in the league and 68th in the nation with 11.82 offensive rebounds per game… Opponents are averaging 35.9 rebounds per game…Mustangs are eighth in the conference with a +3.3 rebounding margin… Carter is third in the league with 85 total rebounds (83rd in the nation) and fourth with 7.7 rebounds per game (82nd in the nation)…Carter is fourth in the conference and 66th in the nation with 2.82 offensive rebounds per game…Sanders is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, including 1.91 offensive rebounds per game, 13th in the LSC…Davison is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game, 19th in the LSC… MSU is eighth in the conference with 13.4 turnovers per game...Mustangs are forcing 12.36 turnovers per game, which is 15th in the LSC…MSU is ninth in the league with 7.0 steals per game… Sanders is fifth in the LSC with 20 steals and eighth in the league with 1.82 steals per game… MSU is eighth in the league with 3.1 blocks per game … Duncan Alevok is fifth in the LSC with 13 blocks and ninth in the league with 1.18 blocks per game…

SCOUTING LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN | Lubbock Christian is 4-0 at home this season and has a four-game winning streak…Chaps defeated Cameron on Friday night, 85-61, as Russell Harrison and Rowan Mackenzie combined for 56 points and 11 three-pointers… LCU has won its last seven meetings with the Mustangs… Todd Duncan is 210-114 (.648) in 12 seasons as the Lubbock Christian head coach…Duncan has had one sub-.500 season, going 14-15 in 2017-18…Duncan led the Chaps to a combined 45-7 (.865) record the past two seasons…Entering the two-game set with Cameron and MSU: Lubbock Christian was eighth in the LSC with 73.1 points per game… Chaps are fifth in the LSC and 38th in the country, allowing just 65.0 points per game…+8.1 scoring margin is eighth-best in the LSC and 78th in the nation… Chaps are shooting 48.4 percent from the field, which is the highest shooting percentage in the conference and 41st in the nation… Chaps have the best 3-point shooting percentage in the LSC at 37.4 percent, and they make 8.6 3-pointers per game, which is fourth-most in the conference… Rowan Mackenzie is the leading scorer for Lubbock Christian and second leading scorer in the LSC with 19.3 points per game…Mackenzie leads the conference and is 43rd in the nation, shooting 57.9 percent from the field (66 of 114)… Mackenzie is 20 of 41 from beyond the arc (.488) and leads the team in 3-point shooting percentage… Aaron Gonzales is 21 of 48 from 3-point range, and is ninth in the LSC in made 3-pointers… Gonzalez is seventh in the conference with 2.10 3-pointers per game… Lubbock Christian is averaging 14.3 assists per game, which is fourth-most in the conference… Najeeb Muhammad has 43 assists (fourth in the LSC), and Rowan Mackenzie has 38 assists (seventh in the LSC)… LCU is 119 of 153 (.778) from the free-throw line, the third-best free-throw percentage in the conference… Mackenzie is 41 of 52 (.788) from the foul line — sixth among LSC free-throw shooters for most made free throws, and he is sixth in attempts… Mackenzie is 12th in the LSC in free-throw percentage…Najeeb Muhammad is 29 of 32 (.906) at the free-throw line and boast the fourth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC (29th in the nation)... Opponents are shooting 46.1 percent against Lubbock Christian —14th field goal percentage defense in the league… Opponents are hitting 35 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, which is the 15th 3-point shooting defense in the LSC… Lubbock Christian averages 31.9 rebounds per game, which is 14th in the conference… +4.8 rebound margin is fifth in the league… 9.2 offensive rebounds per game is 13th in the league… Mackenzie is the Chaps leading rebounder with 5.6 boards per game… Mackenzie is eighth in the LSC with 18 steals… Chaps average 6.7 steals per game, which is 11th in the LSC… LCU blocks 1.1 shots per game — 15th in the conference… Chaps average 13.5 turnovers per game (ninth in the conference) and force 14.2 turnovers (12th in the conference)… +0.7 turnover margin is 12th in the LSC… Lubbock Christian is second in the conference with 15.9 fouls per game…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State makes its first home appearance of 2023 as the Mustangs welcome Western New Mexico to D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.