MIDWESTERN STATE (11-13, 7-5 LSC)
at TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (12-8, 3-6 LSC)

Thursday, Feb. 17 -- 7:30 p.m.
Steinke Center (Kingsville, Texas)
All-Time Series | MSU leads 38-14

KINGSVILLE, Texas - Midwestern State guns for its fourth straight and sixth win in the last seven games Thursday night against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Tipoff at the Steinke Center is set for 7:30 p.m.

The game is broadcasted via streaming video on the LSC Digital Network. A free audio stream featuring the Voice of the Mustangs -- Pete Stein -- can also be hear at MSUMustangs.com/streaming.

All video streams on the LSC Digital Network are also available on Over-The-Top (OTT) apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku by searching "LSC Digital Network."

THREE... DOT...THOUGHTS...

Midwestern State extended its winning streak to a season-best three games with a 69-50 win over Western New Mexico last Thursday... The Mustangs have won five of the last six and six of the last eight games... MSU enters this week in a tie for sixth place in the Lone Star Conference standing with West Texas A&M at 7-5... The Mustangs are one game back in the loss column out of fourth place trailing St. Mary's (8-4) and Arkansas-Fort Smith (6-4)... Each of Midwestern State's last seven wins have been by double digits... The Mustangs are 4-8 in road games this season, but have split the last four with losses coming at Lubbock Christian and Dallas Baptist... Prior to the last four road games, MSU suffered a pair of close losses to UT Tyler (69-68) and Angelo State (75-73)... Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference in scoring defense (63.3 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.391) and is fifth in 3-point percentage defense (.324) during league play... The defensive run pulled the Mustangs to fifth in the league and 70th in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense (.424) for the season... MSU has limited the opposition to less the 40-percent shooting in each of the last three games and in seven of the last 11 after not achieving the feat over the first 13 games... MSU has limited the opposition to less than a point per field goal attempt four times this season... Midwestern State has shot 40 percent or better in 11 of its last 13 games after shooting less than 40 percent in seven its first 11 games... Midwestern State has shot better than 50 percent from the field four times this season... The Mustangs have connected on 10 3-pointers in four of their last six games after managing 10 3-pointers just three times in the first 18 games of the season... Midwestern State ranks 14th in the LSC in team field goal percentage (42.2 percent) and 17th in team 3-point field goal percentage (30.7 percent)... MSU stands second in the LSC and 22nd in NCAA Division II pulling down 13.0 offensive rebounds per game resulting in 273 second chance points in 24 games (11.4 per game)... 

MSU TRENDSETTERS

Jermane Carter // Senior // Forward // Lenape, N.J.

ranks 11th in the LSC in scoring at 15.1 points per game... leads the LSC and ranks 18th in NCAA Division II pulling down 3.5 offensive rebounds per game... is seventh in overall rebounds per game in the LSC collecting 6.3 caroms per game... rates third in the LSC in field goal percentage at 49.6... scored in double figures in 18 of 24 games this season...  booked 20-or-more points in six games... earned LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the week preceding Jan. 31 after averaging 20 points and 7.5 rebounds in wins over No. 12 West Texas A&M and Cameron... erupted for career-high 28 points while completing his second collegiate double-double with 10 rebounds against No. 3 West Texas A&M (11/22)... went for 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting with a season-high four 3-pointers while pulling down seven rebounds in a 100-90 overtime win against No. 12 West Texas A&M (1/27)... scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds while shooting 7-for-10 from the floor with three 3-pointers in a win over Cameron (1/29)... scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with a season-best three dunks at Dallas Baptist (1/22)... connected on 9-of-18 shots with a 3-pointer to finish with 23 points and seven rebounds at Angelo State (1/13)... poured in a team-high 20 points on 11-of-18 shooting with a career-best four 3-pointers (on five attempts) in a 60-50 win over St. Edward's (1/6)... recorded his third career double-double and second of the season going for 17 points and 12 rebounds against Texas A&M-Commerce (12/31)... went for 22 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes against Northern State (11/16)... scored 21 of his game-high 22 points in the second half going 12-for-16 from the free throw line with six rebounds at Oklahoma Christian (12/2)... narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds in a win over Colorado State-Pueblo (11/13)... 10 of his 11 rebounds against Colorado State-Pueblo came on the offensive end of the floor... had another near double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds at  Cameron (11/30)... scored his 500th career point against Lubbock Christian (2/3)...

Terrell Wilson // Junior // Guard // Houston, Texas

ranks 23rd in the Lone Star Conference in scoring with 13.1 points per game while averaging 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.0 minutes over 24 games this season... scored in double figures 17 times this season and in seven of his last eight games...  scored 20-or-more points three times... connected on at least two 3-pointers in 12 games... made three steals in each of his last three games seven times this season... has 98 steals through 68 games for an average of 1.4 steals per game to put him fifth on MSU's all-time list.... needs 13 steals to tie former All American Tony Forch (111 steals from 1978-80) for 15th place on the all-time list...  poured in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting going 6-of-6 from the arc at UT Tyler (1/2)... booked 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting with three 3-pointers against Dallas Baptist (1/22)... went for 21 points with five assists and two steals in a win over Colorado State-Pueblo (11/13)... scored game-high 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting with four assists and three steals in a 75-61 win over Dallas Baptist (2/8)... narrowly missed a double-double finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds while hitting three 3-pointers in a 100-90 overtime win against No. 17 West Texas A&M (1/27)... connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field including a 3-pointer for a team-high 17 points in a win at UT Permian Basin (1/15)... scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half against Texas A&M-Commerce (12/31)... scored his 700th career point at Lubbock Christian (2/3)...

Pierre Sanders // Sophomore // Guard // Hutto, Texas

averages 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 29.7 minutes over 19 games... scored in double figures nine times... missed five games due to injury from the Nov. 30 game at Cameron through the Dec. 16 game against Texas A&M-Commerce... poured in a career high 21 points and threatened a triple double by matching career bests with nine rebounds and eight assists in a 100-90 overtime win over No. 12 West Texas A&M (1/27)... matched a career high with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting burying three 3-pointers in a 71-49 win over Eastern New Mexico (2/5)... went for game-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting with two 3-pointers and two steals in a 75-61 win over Dallas Baptist (2/8)... poured in 17 points hitting four 3-pointers in a win at UT Permian Basin (1/15)... splashed in a season-high 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds at Northern State (11/26)... finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in a win over Colorado State-Pueblo (11/13)... buried a season-high three 3-pointers and went 5-for-9 from the field to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds against St. Mary's (1/8)... buried a season-high three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points and five assists against Cameron (1/29)... 

Amaechi Chuwku // Sophomore // Forward // Denton, Texas

averages 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.6 minutes over 23 games... averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 20.3 minutes shooting 32-of-44 from the field (72.7 percent) scoring in double figures in five of six games from Jan. 13-Feb. 3... scored in double figures six times... ranks 10th in the Lone Star Conference averaging 2.1 offensive rebounds per game... set a career-high with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and narrowly missed first collegiate double-double with nine rebounds against Cameron (1/29)... scored in double digits for the first time against Angelo State (1/13) then extended the run to three straight games with at least 10 points against UT Permian Basin (1/15) and Dallas Baptist (1/22)... went for 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds at Angelo State (1/13)... scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting with five rebounds versus No. 1 Lubbock Christian (2/3).... notched first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 5-of-7 from the field with a 3-pointer at UT Permian Basin (1/15)...  added second double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in a 75-61 win over Dallas Baptist (2/8)... scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting with six rebounds before fouling out in 28 minutes at Dallas Baptist (1/22)... 

Jalin Brown // Senior // Forward // Denton, Texas

averages 5.9 points and ranks 10th in the Lone Star Conference pulling down 6.2 rebounds in 22.8 minutes over 24 starts... grabbed at least seven rebounds in 11 games this season including a high of 15 rebounds against St. Edward's (1/6)... pulled down 9.5 rebounds over a six-game stretch from Dec. 13 against UT Tyler through Jan. 8 against St. Mary's... shooting 42.1 percent from the arc for the season (16-of-38)... connected on two 3-pointers in consecutive games going 2-for-2 at Texas A&M-Commerce (12/31) and 2-for-3 against UT Tyler (1/2)... accounted for a season-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two 3-pointers in a 69-50 win over Western New Mexico (2/10)... scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a win over Colorado State-Pueblo (11/13)... booked 10 points with five rebounds and three steals in a 100-90 overtime win against No. 12 West Texas A&M (1/27)... scored 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting with five rebounds at No. 1 Lubbock Christian (2/3)... scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 75-61 win over Dallas Baptist (2/8)...

HEAD COACH JUSTIN LESLIE is in his third season at the helm of the Midwestern State men's basketball program. The Mustangs battled to an 8-21 mark in 2019-20 but closed the regular season by winning four out of five games to qualify for the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament. MSU also closed the 2020-21 regular season with four straight wins advancing the LSC Postseason Tournament for the second straight year with an 11-8 overall record. Prior to MSU, Leslie posted a 266-121 overall record (.687) at Azusa Pacific leading the Cougars to nine 20-win campaigns, two Pacific West Conference titles, seven postseason tournament appearance and an NCAA Division II Elite Eight showing in 2015. Overall, Leslie owns a 296-163 mark (.645) in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach including a 30-42 record (.417) at MSU.

SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS

Texas A&M-Kingsville lost four of its last six games, but is coming off of a 77-69 over UT Permian Basin Saturday in Odessa... The Javelinas sport a 5-4 record both on the home floor at Steinke Center and on the road... TAMUK are currently 14th in the LSC standings with a 3-6 record, but had three LSC postponed earlier this season against Lubbock Christian (12/31), Eastern New Mexico (1/2) and Western New Mexico (1/7)... The Javelinas do not appear set to make up any of those three games... Texas A&M-Kingsville ranks second in the LSC and 15th in NCAA Division II with a +4.0 turnover margin... The Hoggies are third in the LSC and 23rd nationally with 12.95 offensive rebounds per game... Sophomore C.J. Smith leads the Javelinas in scoring at 14.1 points per game... Smith ranks 14th in the LSC with 3.4 assists per game and is fifth in the league in steals at 1.61 per game... Smith has scored 20-or-more points in for games this season with a high of 26 against Angelo State (2/10) and scored in double figures at times including in each of the last seven... Freshman Marcus Jones (17) junior Creighton Avery (16) combined for 33 points off of the bench to lead the Javelinas Saturday at UT Permian Basin... Avery was an NABC All-South Central Region second-teamer, an All-LSC first-team performer and was a on the LSC All-Defensive Team averaging 14.3 points per game for TAMUK in 2020-21... Junior Tayvion Johnson averaged 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15 games as a freshman at Midwestern State in 2018-19...

HEAD COACH JOHNNY ESTELLE boasts a 110-97 record (.531) in his eighth season at the helm of his alma mater. Estelle led the Hoggies to NCAA Division II South Central Region appearances in 2017 and 2020. Texas A&M-Kingsville advanced to the Round of 32 by taking a win over UT Permian Basin in the opening round in 2017 and was slated to face Angelo State before the 2020 tournament was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Estelle was a two-year letter winner at TAMUK from 1994-96 earning second-team All-LSC honors and was the league's was the league's tournament MVP in 1996. Estelle accepted his first collegiate head coaching job at Navarro College from 2008-13 and took over the helm at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2014. He also served as an assistant at Houston (2013-14) and Navarro College (2000-08).

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Kingsville meet for the 53rd time on the hardwood Thursday night at Steinke Center. The Mustangs own a 38-14 edge in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season. Texas A&M-Kingsville claimed a 77-66 win in the last meeting on Jan. 30, 2020. MSU has won 22 of the last 25 meetings including 19 straight to start the run from Jan. 17, 2009 through Dec. 19, 2016. The Mustangs are 15-8 all-time at the Steinke Center.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State and Texas A&M International square off for the first time at TAMIU's Kinesiology and Convocation Building Saturday afternoon in Laredo. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.