WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State closes out its four-game homestand against LSC rival West Texas A&M. The Mustangs have lost their last two games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and suffered a 72-71 defeat at West Texas A&M earlier this season.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (9-11, 6-8) vs. WEST TEXAS A&M (14-5, 12-1)

Saturday, Jan. 28 | 3 p.m.
D.L Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas

Series History | West Texas A&M leads, 45-33

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State nearly overcame a 13-point deficit at First United Bank Center on Dec. 30, but West Texas A&M held on for a 72-71 victory. The Mustangs shot 65.2 percent from the field in the second half, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Midwestern State senior Derrick Ogechi connected on 7-of-14 shots with four 3-pointers and finished the game with 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. WT junior Larry Wise poured in a game-high 25 points with five 3-pointers to lead the Buffs.

LAST TIME OUT | Lubbock Christian made its final three shots of the first half and its first five shots of the second half to pull away from Midwestern State in a 71-61 victory at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Thursday night. Lubbock Christian shot 51 percent from the field, hitting 27 of 53 shots. The Chaparrals held MSU to 34 percent shooting as the Mustangs hit just 21 of 61 shots. In the first half the Mustangs were 8 of 31 and trailed at halftime, 30-24. Midwestern State made just 6 of 15 layups in the entire game and missed two layups in the opening 1:18 of the contest. MSU senior forward Jermane Carter scored 12 points, scoring double figures for the ninth consecutive game and for the 15th time this season. Carter also grabbed 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. MSU junior guard Pierre Sanders dished out five of the 12 assists for the Mustangs and finished with 10 points and four rebounds. MSU freshman guard Mason Gibson was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and scored nine points for the Mustangs, who were 8 of 25 from beyond the arc as a team.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 5-4 at home this season… Justin Leslie is 310-176 (.638) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 44-55 (.444) under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Mustangs are 26-19 at home during the Leslie era and have won 12 of their last 16 home games…MSU is 1-5 against the Buffaloes under Leslie, including a 1-1 record at home …MSU is 13th in the LSC with 69.0 points per game and 14th with a 42.9 shooting percentage from the field…Jermane Carter is the leading scorer with 12.2 points per game…Pierre Sanders averages 11.8 points per game… Marquis Davison is scoring 10.7 points per game…Derrick Ogechi is averaging 10.4 points per game…Carter has 872 career points at MSU, averaging 12.8 points per game for his career…Midwestern State is 144 of 469 from beyond the arc (.307), 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…Ogechi is 42 of 126 from 3-point range (.333)…Ogechi is fourth in the LSC with 41 total 3-pointers and eighth with 2.10 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 60 total assists…MSU is 232 of 342 (.676) from the free-throw line, which is the 11th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Mustangs are 13th in the conference with 17.2 free-throw attempts per game…Carter is 60 of 102 (.588) 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 52 of 63 (.825) from the free-throw line and has the 14th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…MSU is sixth in the conference and 47th in the nation, allowing 66.8 points per game…Midwestern State holds opponents to 42.4 percent shooting from the field — third-best field-goal percentage defense in the conference and 71st in the nation…MSU is holding opponents to 31.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, which is the fifth-best 3-point shooting percentage defense in the LSC and 40th in the nation…+2.2 scoring margin is 10th in the LSC…MSU is second in the conference and 80th in the nation with 37.10 rebounds per game…Mustangs are sixth in the league and 57th in the nation with 11.50 offensive rebounds per game…+1.4 rebound margin is ninth-best in the LSC…Jermane Carter is second in the conference with 173 total rebounds and second in the league with 8.6 rebounds per game…Carter is third in the conference and 23rd in the nation with 3.25 offensive rebounds per game…Carter has 490 career rebounds at MSU, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game over three seasons…Midwestern State is 12th in the conference with 6.0 steals per game…Sanders is fourth in the league with 35 total steals and third with 1.75 steals per game…Sanders has 93 career steals in 65 career games (1.43 steals per game) at MSU…MSU is eighth in the league with 12.6 turnovers per game and is forcing 11.95 turnovers, which is 15th in the conference…-0.6 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 49th in the nation with 15.2 fouls per game…

SCOUTING WEST TEXAS A&M | West Texas A&M is 6-2 on the road this season…Buffaloes are 11-22 all-time when visiting Midwestern State…WT has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Mustangs but lost their last trip to Wichita Falls, 100-90, in overtime last season on Jan. 27…Tom Brown is 223-55 (.802) in nine seasons as the head coach at West Texas…Brown has had six 20+ win seasons at WT…Brown is 11-5 against MSU in his career…West Texas A&M leads the LSC and is 18th in the nation with 84.5 points per game…Buffaloes are 11th in the conference with a .449 field goal percentage…Julius Brown is third in the conference with 17.6 points per game and Damion Thornton is eighth with 15.2 points per game…Thornton is shooting 52.8 percent from the field, which is fifth-best in the LSC…Brown is seventh-best at 47.5 percent from the field…Brown has scored 299 points this season and has 828 points in his two seasons with the Buffaloes…WT is 178 of 492 from 3-point distance (.362) and has the best 3-point percentage in the LSC…WT leads the league with 9.4 3-pointers per game…Buffaloes attempt 25.9 shots from beyond the arc per game, which is the most attempts in the LSC…Zach Toussaint is fourth in the league with 2.37 3-pointers made per game, and Wise is fifth with 2.22…Toussaint is 45 of 111 (.405) from 3-point range, and Wise is 40 of 101 (.396)…Toussaint is fourth in the LSC in made 3-point shots, and Wise is seventh…WT leads the conference and is second nationally with 26.3 free-throw attempts per game…Buffaloes shoot 77 percent from the foul line, which is fourth in the conference and 23rd nationally…20.3 made free throws per game leads the nation…Thornton is 79 of 117 (.675) from the free-throw line and leads the conference in attempts...Thornton has the seventh-most made free throws in the LSC…Brown is 71 of 86 (.826) from the free-throw line…Brown has the eighth-most made free throws in the conference and the 11th-most attempts…Larry Wise is 48 of 54 (.889) at the foul line and has the fourth-best free-throw percentage in the conference, 27th-best in the nation…WT is 16th in the LSC with 11.2 assists per game…Brown leads the Buffaloes with 60 assists…WT is 12th in the league with 32.05 rebounds per game…Buffaloes grab 11.63 offensive rebounds per game, which is fourth-most in the LSC…-1.2 rebound margin is 15th in the conference…WT is second in the LSC with 8.2 steals per game…Thornton has 26 steals (12th in LSC) and 1.53 steals per game (eighth in LSC)…Buffaloes are second in the conference with 17.05 turnovers forced per game…WT only turns the ball over 10 times per game, which is the best mark in the conference…+7.1 turnover margin is best in the LSC…Buffaloes average 1.9 blocks per game, 11th in the conference…WT commits 20.5 fouls per game, which is the most in the LSC…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State travels to Eastern New Mexico Thursday for a rematch with the Greyhounds, who  MSU defeated in Wichita Falls earlier this season, 56-53. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (CST).