WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State seeks a regular season sweep in its series with Lubbock Christian as the two programs meet at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs upset LCU at Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock earlier this season, 71-65.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (9-10, 6-7) vs. LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (12-6, 8-4)

Thursday, Jan. 26 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 29-14

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State used a balanced scoring attack and a smothering defense to end a seven-game slide in its series with Lubbock Christian. The Mustangs scored a 71-65 victory on New Year's Day at Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock. It was the Mustangs' first win at Rip Griffin Center in four tries and first win since beating the Chaps 123-87 on Feb. 12, 1994 in Wichita Falls. Midwestern State limited Lubbock Christian to a single field goal over the over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the game. MSU closed the first half on an 11-2 run to chisel an 11-point LCU advantage down to a 34-32 deficit on Pierre Sanders' transition layup with 7 seconds to go. Jermane Carter converted a three-point play and hit a right-handed hook shot in the paint to ignite a 9-0 run which resulted in a 58-52 lead for the Mustangs after Sanders dropped in another layup with 8:57 to play. Lubbock Christian rallied to tie the game at 60-60 on Russell Harrison's triple from the right wing with 6:50 to go in the second half. But the Chaps managed to shoot 1-of-8 against MSU's pesky defense the rest of the way as the Mustangs outscored LCU 11-5 down the stretch. Midwestern State junior Marquis Davison led the Mustangs in scoring with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, draining both of his 3-point attempts. He also matched a season high with nine rebounds. Pierre Sanders scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while setting a career high with five steals.

LAST TIME OUT | Oklahoma Christian shot 50 percent from the field, junior guard Drew Tennial led all scorers with 22 points, and the Eagles defeated Midwestern State Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, 79-72. Midwestern State was 8 of 25 from the field in the first half. Midwestern State turned the ball over 12 times in the opening 20 minutes, and the Eagles capitalized with 14 points off those turnovers. Oklahoma Christian held a 47-23 halftime lead. Midwestern State outscored OC in the second half, 49-42, hitting 17 of 38 shots, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range. MSU finished the game shooting 39.7 percent from the field. Jermane Carter was 6 of 11 from the field and scored 15 points in the second half. Derrick Ogechi was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes on his way to 14 second-half points. Ogechi hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in the game to bring MSU to within five points, but Tennial subsequently hit two free throws for Oklahoma Christian to close out the scoring. Ogechi and Carter each finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Pierre Sanders played 35 minutes and finished with 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field. Sanders was 5 of 6 from inside the arc. Midwestern State saw a five-game home winning streak come to an end.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 5-3 at home this season… Justin Leslie is 310-175 (.639) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 44-54 (.449) under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Mustangs are 26-18 at home during the Leslie era and have won 12 of their last 15 home games…Leslie improved to 1-5 against the Chaps since arriving at Midwestern State with a 71-65 win earlier this season at Lubbock…MSU has lost the two meetings at D.L. Ligon Coliseum under Leslie…MSU is 12th in the LSC with 69.4 points per game and 13th with a 43.4 shooting percentage from the field…Jermane Carter is the leading scorer with 12.2 points per game…Pierre Sanders averages 11.9 points per game, and Marquis Davison is scoring 10.6 points per game…Carter has 860 career points at MSU, averaging 12.8 points per game for his career…Midwestern State is 136 of 444 from beyond the arc (.306), which is 15th in the conference for 3-point shooting percentage…MSU is fifth in the conference with 23.4 3-point attempts per game…Mustangs make 7.2 3-pointers per game, which is eighth-most in the conference…Derrick Ogechi is 41 of 120 from 3-point range (.342)…Ogechi is fifth in the LSC with 41 total 3-pointers and eighth with 2.16 3-pointers made per game…Ogechi has the fourth-most attempts from beyond the arc in the LSC…Midwestern State is seventh in the conference with 12.4 assists per game…Sanders is 12th in the league with 55 total assists…MSU is 221 of 325 (.680) from the free-throw line, which is the 11th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Mustangs are 13th in the conference with 17.1 free-throw attempts per game…Carter is 56 of 95 (.589) from the free-throw line…Carter has the fifth-most attempts from the foul line and has made the 13th-most free throws in the conference…Sanders is 49 of 60 (.817) from the free-throw line and has the 14th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…MSU is sixth in the conference and 45th in the nation, allowing 66.6 points per game…Midwestern State holds opponents to 42.0 percent shooting from the field — fourth-best field-goal percentage defense in the conference and 66th in the nation…MSU is holding opponents to 31.0 percent shooting from 3-point range, which is the fourth-best 3-point shooting percentage defense in the LSC and 38th in the nation…+2.8 scoring margin is 10th in the LSC…MSU is second in the conference and 81st in the nation with 37.21 rebounds per game…Mustangs are sixth in the league and 72nd in the nation with 11.21 offensive rebounds per game…+1.5 rebound margin is ninth-best in the LSC…Jermane Carter is third in the conference with 162 total rebounds and second in the league with 8.5 rebounds per game…Carter is third in the conference and 33rd in the nation with 3.11 offensive rebounds per game…Carter has 479 career rebounds at MSU, averaging 7.1 rebounds per game over three seasons…Midwestern State is 11th in the conference with 6.1 steals per game…Sanders is second in the league with 34 total steals and 1.79 steals per game…Sanders has 92 career steals in 64 career games (1.4 steals per game) at MSU…MSU is eighth in the league with 12.8 turnovers per game and is forcing 12.11 turnovers, which is 15th in the conference…-0.7 turnover margin is 13th in the LSC…MSU blocks 2.8 shots per game — eighth in the conference…Duncan Alevok is sixth in the LSC with 18 total blocks…MSU leads the conference and is 54th in the nation with 15.2 fouls per game…

SCOUTING LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN | Lubbock Christian has back-to-back victories on the road, scoring a 58-48 triumph at UT Tyler and defeating Dallas Baptist at Burg Center, 73-69…Lubbock Christian is 5-3 on the road this season…LCU has won four of its last six games since suffering a 71-65 loss to MSU on Jan. 1…Todd Duncan is 214-117 (.647) in 12 seasons as the head coach at LCU…Duncan is 6-1 against Midwestern State in his career, including a 3-0 record at D.L. Ligon Coliseum…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…Lubbock Christian leads the LSC and is 56th in the nation with a 47.3 field goal percentage…LCU is sixth in the conference in scoring with 73.1 points per game…Rowan Mackenzie is second in the league with 19.4 points per game, and Russell Harrison is seventh in the conference with 15.6 points per game…Harrison has taken the fourth-most shots in the league with 231, and Mackenzie is 10th with 201 shots…Mackenzie is shooting 57.7 percent from the floor, which is second in the league and 44th in the nation…Mackenzie is coming off his third career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 73-69 victory over DBU…Harrison has scored at least 20 points in five games this season… Harrison, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, is now just 16 points away from 1,000 points in his career at NCAA schools, and 88 points away from 2,000 career points. Harrison also played at Wayland Baptist (NAIA) and Clarendon College (NJCAA)…Harrison is 43 of 119 (.361) from 3-point range…Harrison is fifth in the LSC with 119 3-point attempts…Harrison is third in the conference in 3-point shots made and with 2.39 3-pointers per game…Aaron Gonzales is 36 of 93 (.387) from beyond the arc…Gonzales is 13th in 3-point attempts and ninth in the LSC with 2.00 3-pointers per game, tied with Mackenzie, who is 36 of 93 from beyond the arc…Gonzalez and Mackenzie are 10th among LSC shooters with 36 total 3-pointers made…LCU is second in the LSC with 8.9 3-pointers made per game and a 3-point shooting percentage of 35.8 percent…Chaps are also second in the conference with 25 3-point attempts per game…Chaps hit 78.5 percent of their free throws, which is the third-best percentage in the LSC…LCU is 14th in the conference, making 12.2 free throws per game…LCU attempts the second-fewest free throws in the conference with 15.5 free throw attempts per game…Mackenzie is 81 of 98 (.827) from the free-throw line…Najeeb Muhammad is 46 of 53 (.868) from the free-throw line and has the seventh-highest percentage in the LSC…Mackenzie is fourth in the league with 81 made free throws and third in the conference with 98 attempts and has the 12th-best free-throw percentage in the conference…LCU is fourth in the league with 14.1 assists per game…Muhammad is fourth in the conference with 82 assists, and Mackenzie is 11th is 57 assists…Mackenzie has 117 total rebounds this season, which is eighth-most in the conference, and 6.5 rebounds per game is ninth in the league…Chaps are 12th in the LSC with 32.28 rebounds per game and 15th in the league with 8.83 offensive rebounds per game… +3 rebound margin is fourth-best in the league…Mackenzie is eighth in the conference with 117 total rebounds and ninth with 6.5 rebounds per game…LCU is holding opponents to 66.2 points per game — fifth in the LSC…Opponents are shooting 46 percent from the field, which is 14th in the conference…+6.9 scoring margin is the sixth-best in the league…Chaps average 1.6 blocks per game, which is 15th in the league…LCU is 13th in the conference with 5.9 steals per game…Mackenzie has the sixth-most steals in the league with 30 total steals, and 1.67 steals per game is fourth in the conference…Chaps force 13.33 turnovers per game, which is 11th in the LSC…12.4 turnovers per game is sixth-best in the LSC and 77th in the nation…LCU only commits 16.1 fouls per game, which is second in the LSC…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State closes out its four-game homestand with a showdown against LSC rival West Texas A&M on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.