PORTALES, N.M. -- Midwestern State looks to complete a regular season sweep as the Mustangs travel to Eastern New Mexico for the second meeting of the year. Tipoff at Greyhound Arena on Thursday night is slated for 8:30 p.m. (CDT).
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (10-11, 7-8) vs. EASTERN NEW MEXICO (12-8, 7-7)

Thursday, Feb. 2 | 8:30 p.m.
Greyhound Arena | Portales, N.M.

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 37-18

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State overcame a 4-of-25 shooting performance in the second half with tenacious defense down the stretch, and the Mustangs defeated Eastern New Mexico at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last month, 56-53. Senior guard Pierre Sanders scored 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field in the first half, and the Mustangs took a 32-24 halftime lead over the Greyhounds. Midwestern State missed its first 12 shots from the field in the second half and fell behind 48-41 with 7:15 remaining in the game. The Mustangs responded with a 12-0 run to take a 53-48 lead with 2:11 remaining on a Jermane Carter layup. Eastern New Mexico only made one of its final nine shots from the field. Sanders finished with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for the Mustangs. Carter notched a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Ogechi scored 10 points in the victory.

LAST TIME OUT | Junior guard Pierre Sanders poured in a career-high 36 points Saturday afternoon as Midwestern State defeated West Texas A&M at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, 92-86, ending the Buffaloes six-game winning streak. Sanders was 8 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and scored 23 points in the first half as the Mustangs took a 45-41 halftime lead. Midwestern State was 15 of 29 from the field in the first half, and the Mustangs were 5 of 11 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes. West Texas A&M scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 48-45 lead. Jared Washington scored six points in a 10-0 run as Midwestern State took a 63-53 lead with 11:43 to play. Jermane Carter scored six points and blocked a shot in a 1:24 span of the second half as Midwestern State extended its lead to 17 points, 76-59, with 7:52 remaining in the game. Mason Gibson made his first career start and hit 4 of 6 shots, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, on his way to 10 points. Washington played a career-high 24 minutes and scored a career-high 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting. He converted 8 of 11 free throw attempts. Washington also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Mustangs. The Mustangs shot 51.7 percent from the field (30 of 58) and held West Texas A&M to 37.8 percent shooting (28 of 74). Midwestern State outrebounded the Buffaloes, 45-37.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 3-7 on the road this season and lost its last two games as the visitor… Justin Leslie is 311-176 (.639) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 45-55 (.450) under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Mustangs are 16-33 on the road during the Leslie era…MSU is 3-1 against the Greyhounds under Leslie, including a 2-0 record at Portales … Mustangs have won five of the last seven meetings and are 25-4 in the last 29 encounters…Midwestern State is 17-10 all-time in Portales…MSU is 12th in the LSC with 70.1 points per game and 14th with a 43.4 shooting percentage from the field…Pierre Sanders is the leading scorer with 13.0 points per game…Jermane Carter averages 12.6 points per game… Marquis Davison is scoring 10.6 points per game…Derrick Ogechi is averaging 9.9 points per game…Carter has 893 career points at MSU, averaging 12.9 points per game for his career…Midwestern State is 152 of 487 from beyond the arc (.312), which is 14th in the conference for 3-point shooting percentage…MSU is fifth in the conference with 23.2 3-point attempts per game…Mustangs make 7.2 3-pointers per game, which is eighth-most in the conference…Ogechi is 42 of 129 from 3-point range (.326)…Ogechi is sixth in the LSC with 42 total 3-pointers and ninth with 2.0 3-pointers made per game…Ogechi has the fifth-most attempts from beyond the arc in the LSC…Midwestern State is seventh in the conference with 12.4 assists per game…Sanders is 10th in the league with 63 total assists…Sanders has 191 career assists in three seasons (2.89 assists per game)…MSU is 256 of 374 (.684) from the free-throw line, which is the 11th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Mustangs are 12th in the conference with 17.8 free-throw attempts per game…Carter is 64 of 107 (.598) from the free-throw line…Carter has the sixth-most attempts from the foul line and has made the 13th-most free throws in the conference…Sanders is 60 of 72 (.833) from the free-throw line and has the ninth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…MSU is eighth in the conference and 63rd in the nation, allowing 67.7 points per game…Midwestern State holds opponents to 42.1 percent shooting from the field — second-best field-goal percentage defense in the conference and 65th in the nation…MSU is holding opponents to 31.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, which is the sixth-best 3-point shooting percentage defense in the LSC and 63rd in the nation…+2.4 scoring margin is 10th in the LSC…MSU leads the conference and is 80th in the nation with 37.48 rebounds per game…Mustangs are sixth in the league and 61st in the nation with 11.38 offensive rebounds per game…+1.46 rebound margin is eighth-best in the LSC…Jermane Carter is third in the conference and 33rd in the nation with 179 total rebounds…Carter is second in the league with 8.5 rebounds per game…Carter is second in the conference and 25th in the nation with 3.19 offensive rebounds per game…Carter has 496 career rebounds at MSU, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game over three seasons…Midwestern State is 12th in the conference with 5.8 steals per game…Sanders is fourth in the league with 37 total steals and third with 1.76 steals per game…Sanders has 95 career steals in 66 career games (1.43 steals per game) at MSU…MSU is seventh in the league with 12.6 turnovers per game and is forcing 11.67 turnovers, which is 15th in the conference…-0.9 turnover margin is 13th in the LSC…MSU blocks 3.1 shots per game — sixth in the conference…Carter is seventh in the LSC with 20 total blocks, and Duncan Alevok is eighth with 18 total blocks…MSU leads the conference and is 82nd in the nation with 15.7 fouls per game…

SCOUTING EASTERN NEW MEXICO | Eastern New Mexico is 10-0 at home this season and has an 11-game home winning streak, dating back to last season…ENMU has lost five of its last seven games…Greyhounds are coming off a 74-72 loss at UTPB…Brent Owen is in his second season as the head coach at ENMU and is 19-25 (.432)…Owen is 0-2 against the Mustangs…Greyhounds are seventh in the LSC with 73.0 points per game and sixth in the league with a 45.8 field goal percentage… Jahcoree Ealy leads ENMU with 13.3 points per game…Eze Dike scores 11.2 points per game…Errol White averages 10.6 and Greg Johnson scores 10.4 points per game…ENMU is 107 of 337 (.318) from beyond the arc …ENMU is 15th in the league with 16.8 3-point attempts per game and 14th in the conference with 5.4 3-point shots made per game…Greyhounds are 339 of 498 (.681) at the free-throw line…ENMU is second in the LSC with 24.9 free-throw attempts per game and is 12th in free-throw percentage…Greyhounds are third in the conference with 17.0 made free throws per game…Johnson is 59 of 66 (.894) at the free-throw line…Johnson has the fourth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Ealy is 85 of 109 (.780) at the free-throw line…Ealy is fifth in the LSC in free-throw attempts and sixth in free throws made this season…ENMU averages 11.6 assists per game, which is 12th in the conference…Ealy leads the Greyhounds with 36 assists and Dike has 34 assists this season…ENMU is second in the LSC with 36.90 rebounds per game and fifth in the conference with 11.45 offensive rebounds per game…White leads the league and is 31st in the nation with 9.1 rebounds per game…White is second in the conference and 31st in the nation with 182 total rebounds…White leads the conference with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game, which is 12th in the nation…ENMU leads the league holding opponents to 41.6 percent shooting from the field…Greyhounds are allowing 69.9 points per game, which is 10th in the conference…Opponents are shooting 33.5 percent from 3-points range, which is 10th in the LSC…+3.1 scoring margin is ninth-best in the league...Greyhounds are second in the league and 53rd in the nation with 8.0 steals per game… White is seventh in the conference with 32 total steals and eighth in the LSC with 1.6 steals per game…Dike is 12th in the conference with 1.39 steals per game…Greyhounds are fourth in the LSC with 3.6 blocks per game…Jose Murillo is fourth in the conference with 28 total blocks and 1.4 blocks per game…Greyhounds force the third-most turnovers in the LSC with 16.6 per game…ENMU commits 16.8 turnovers per game, which is 16th in the conference…-0.2 turnover margin is 11th in the league…ENMU commits 20.0 fouls per game, which is second-most in the conference…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State journeys to Western New Mexico for the second encounter of the season. MSU won the meeting in Wichita Falls, 70-60, and goes for the sweep Saturday afternoon at Drag's Court in Silver City, N.M. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CDT)