WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State is back home with a chance to reach .500 for the first time this season. MSU is hosting Western New Mexico, and tipoff at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

MIDWESTERN STATE (6-7, 3-4) vs. WESTERN NEW MEXICO (8-4, 2-4)

Thursday, Jan. 5 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 13-2

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State defeated Western New Mexico, 69-50, in their meeting at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last season. Jermane Carter led the Mustangs with 15 points and eight rebounds while connecting on a pair of 3-pointers. Luke Hamilton buried a pair of 3-pointers and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds in the victory. Joshuwan Johnson was a bright spot for WNMU hitting five 3-pointers for a team-high 17 points. Dylan Arnette added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting with two 3-pointers.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State used a balanced scoring attack and a smothering defense to beat Lubbock Christian 71-65 in Lone Star Conference play Sunday afternoon at Rip Griffin Center. Midwestern State limited Lubbock Christian to a single field goal over the over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the game to pull away for a six-point win. Midwestern State junior Marquis Davison led the Mustangs in scoring for the third time this season finishing with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting draining both of his 3-point attempts. He also matched a season high with nine rebounds. Junior guard Pierre Sanders scored in double figures for the 10th time this season finishing with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while setting a career high with five steals. Senior guard Derrick Ogechi has knocked down 10 of his last 16 3-point attempts over his last three games. He extended run of double-digit scoring performance finishing with 13 points with three triples. Senior forward Luke Hamilton knocked down a 3-pointer in his 10th consecutive game finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, and two blocked shots. Senior Jermane Carter logged his eighth double-digit scoring effort finishing with an all-around line of 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 3-4 at home this season…MSU has won three of its last four meetings with the WNMU Mustangs and is 6-0 at home in the series …Justin Leslie is 307-172 (.641) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 41-51 under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Leslie is 1-1 against WNMU since arriving at MSU …Midwestern State is 14th in the conference, averaging 69.3 points… Mustangs are third in the LSC and 33rd in the nation, allowing opponents to score 64.8 points per game… +4.5 scoring margin is 11th in the league… Marquis Davison leads MSU with 11.4 points per game… Pierre Sanders is averaging 11.2 points per game…Jermane Carter is averaging 10.3 points per game…Derrick Ogechi is averaging 9.1 points per game… Luke Hamilton is averaging 8.6 points per game…MSU is 12th in the LSC, shooting 43.9 percent from the field (333 of 758)… Davison is 58 of 105 from the field (.552)…Midwestern is third in the league, holding opponents to 41.0 percent (325 of 793) shooting from the field…Midwestern is shooting 29.9 percent from 3-point range (93 of 311), 15th in the LSC… Ogechi is 24 of 77 (.313) from 3-point range and third in the conference in attempts from beyond the arc…Hamilton is 25 of 69 from 3-point range (.362) — ninth in the league in 3-point attempts and 11th in 3-pointers made…Mustangs are sixth in the conference with 23.9 attempts from 3-point range per game…MSU is third in the conference and 21st in the nation by holding opponents to 28.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc (90 of 311)…MSU is eighth in the league with 12.8 assists per game…Carter has 36 assists, and Sanders has 34 assists for the Mustangs…MSU is 142 of 208 at the free-throw line (.683), 12th in the LSC in free-throw percentage…Mustangs are 13th in the conference with 17.4 free-throw attempts per game…MSU is 15th in the league with 10.9 made free throws per game… Carter is 37 of 61 from the free-throw line, 12th in the LSC for made free throws and sixth in the league in attempts… Opponents are 103 of 155 from the foul line (.665)…MSU is third in the LSC and 74th in the nation with 37.9 rebounds per game…Midwestern State is seventh in the league with 10.9 offensive rebounds per game… Opponents are averaging 35.2 rebounds per game…Mustangs are seventh in the conference with a +2.8 rebounding margin… Carter is third in the league with 99 total rebounds (68th in the nation) and 7.6 rebounds (87th in the nation) per game…Carter is fourth in the conference and 68th in the nation with 2.77 offensive rebounds per game…Sanders is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game, including 1.61 offensive rebounds per game, 22nd in the LSC…Davison is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game… MSU is seventh in the conference with 13.2 turnovers per game...Mustangs are forcing 11.92 turnovers per game, which is 15th in the LSC…MSU is 11th in the league with 6.3 steals per game… Sanders is third in the LSC and 33rd in the nation with 25 steals…Sanders is fourth in the league with 1.92 steals per game…MSU is eighth in the league with 2.8 blocks per game…Duncan Alevok is eighth in the LSC with 13 blocks and ninth in the LSC with 1.00 blocks per game…

SCOUTING WESTERN NEW MEXICO | WNMU is 2-3 on the road but has lost its last three road games…Western New Mexico is 0-6 all-time at D.L. Ligon Coliseum…Zane Gibson is in his third season as the head coach at WNMU and is 19-30 (.388)…Gibson is 0-1 against the MSU Mustangs… WNMU is averaging 69.2 points per game, which is 15th in the LSC…Mustangs are allowing 70.5 points per game, which is 13th in the conference…-1.3 scoring margin is 15th in the league…Keith Littles is the leading scorer for WNMU with 10.7 points per game…Joshuwan Johnson is averaging 11.2 points per game in conference action, and is the fourth-leading scorer for the Mustangs overall with 8.0 points per game…WNMU is 13th in the LSC, shooting 43.8 percent from the field…Opponents shoot 42.7 percent against WNMU, which is fifth-best in the LSC…WNMU shoots 65.2 percent from the free-throw line, which is 14th in the conference…Mustangs make 12.8 free throws per game — 11th in the LSC… WNMU makes 5.9 3-pointers per game, which is 11th in the LSC…Mustangs attempt 18.7 3-pointers per game, which is 12th in the LSC…Johnson is 19 of 44 (.432) from beyond the arc…WNMU has the fourth-best 3-point percentage defense in the conference as opponents are shooting 29.2 percent from long range… Mustangs grab 32.54 rebounds per game — 13th in the LSC…-2.5 rebounding margin is 16th in the LSC…Mustangs are only averaging 9.00 offensive rebounds per game, 15th in the LSC…Olamide Pedersen is the leading rebounder for WNMU with 4.6 boards per game…Pedersen leads the conference with 27 total blocks (10th in the nation) and 2.25 blocks per game (11th in the nation)…WNMU averages 3.5 blocks per game, which is fifth in the league…WNMU is 13th in the LSC with 14.6 turnovers per game…Mustangs for 16.00 turnovers per game, which is eighth-most in the conference…WNMU commits 18.5 fouls per game, which is eighth-most in the LSC…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State hosts Eastern New Mexico to wrap up its two-game homestand on Saturday. Tipoff at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for 3 p.m.