WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- The 2-0 Midwestern State Mustangs look to remain undefeated when they host Dallas Christian at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. MSU opened the season with an 80-74 double-overtime win against Colorado State-Pueblo and a 93-75 triumph over UC Colorado Springs.

Duncan Alevok earned Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors after his performance in the first two games. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots per game while shooting 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the field.

Alevok scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds and five blocks in 23 minutes against Colorado State-Pueblo in the season opener.

The following day, he scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and finished with five rebounds and three blocks in the win over UC Colorado Springs.

Alevok leads the Lone Star Conference in blocks with eight and is second in field goal percentage at .733.

Mason Gibson emerged as the leading scorer through the first two games, averaging 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, and the sophomore from Allen, Texas, has knocked down 23 of 28 free throws. Gibson is 3 of 11 from beyond the arc. Gibson is the fourth-leading scorer in the LSC.

The Mustangs have three other players averaging double figures in scoring.

Pierre Sanders poured in 18 against CSU-Pueblo and followed that up with a 16-point performance against UCCS. Sanders is shooting 48 percent from the floor and is 10 of 13 from the foul line. The senior from Hutto, Texas, is ninth in the LSC with 17 points per game.

Will Shepherd hit 10-of-19 shots from the field and was 4 of 9 from 3-point range over his first two appearances with the Mustangs. The junior transfer from Oakland is averaging 12.5 points per game.

Bakari LaStrap was 4 of 11 from the field and had three steals in his MSU debut against the Thunderwolves. The junior from Houston hit 3-of-8 field goal attempts and had four steals on Saturday night against the Mountain Lions. LaStrap is averaging 10 points per game and is 6 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Mustangs.

LaStrap leads the LSC with 3.5 steals per game, and Sanders is second in the conference with 3.0 steals per game.

The Mustangs are meeting Dallas Christian for the first time since a 98-57 victory at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in January of 2010. Midwestern State leads the all-time series, 3-0. The Mustangs have averaged 111 points in the three victories and allowed 56 points per game.

Dallas Christian has opened the season with a 1-4 record and is 0-2 on the road this season. The Crusaders opened the campaign with an 81-77 victory over North American University but have a four-game losing streak following a 97-93 loss to Spurgeon.

Yuot Gai leads Dallas Christian with 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Gai is 9 of 20 from 3-point range and is shooting 52.8 percent from the field overall. Gai had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the loss to Spurgeon.

Ny'gel Boozer has scored 12.3 points per game and is pulling down 6.0 rebounds per contest.

Nico Matheus is scoring 10.8 points per game for the Crusaders, who shoot 36.8 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from 3-point range.

Nick Lancit leads Dallas Christian with 4.0 assists per game.

Midwestern State has a non-conference matchup with St. Mary's scheduled for Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 

--MSUMustangs.com--