WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Austin Lewis hit all six of his shots from 3-point range on Saturday afternoon, and converted a critical four-point play at the end of regulation as Midwestern State fended off St. Mary's in overtime at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, 108-104, to improve to 4-0.
Pierre Sanders posted the first triple-double by a Mustang in 22 years.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation the Mustangs were trailing, 87-83. Sanders led the fast break and found Lewis in the right corner. The junior hit a 3-point shot, and Edward Manuel of St. Mary's was called for a foul. Lewis tied the game by converting his free throw with six seconds remaining.
The Rattlers' Jalon Johnson put up a floater as time expired, but he missed, sending the game to overtime.
Lewis and Keith Dinwiddie of St. Mary's exchanged 3-pointers on the first four possessions of overtime to tie the game, 93-93.
Duncan Alevok blocked a Davion Coleman shot, and Lewis grabbed the rebound.
Will Shepherd drove in for a lay-up to give MSU its first lead in overtime, 95-93.
After Johnson hit a jumper for the Rattlers, Shepherd hit a 3-pointer that gave Midwestern State a lead it would not relinquish.
Sanders had six points, three assists and two rebounds in the overtime period to finish with a triple-double. The senior from Hutto, Texas, had 14 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs.
Sam Daghlas was the last Midwestern State player to have a triple-double. Daghlas had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists in an 86-80 win over Drury in the 2001-02 season opener at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on November 16, 2001.
It is the second triple-double in NCAA Division II this season. Western Oregon's Qiant Myers had 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 79-66 win over Multnomah.
It's the first triple-double in the Lone Star Conference since West Texas A&M's Qua Grant had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 94-79 win over Oklahoma Baptist on Jan. 5, 2021.
Lewis finished with 21 points to lead Midwestern State in scoring. The Mustangs had seven players score in double figures.
Mason Gibson, who fouled out with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, finished with 18 points.
Bakari LaStrap had 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Shepherd and
Antwan Taylor each had 13 points for the Mustangs. Taylor was 4 of 5 from the field and led the team with a +20 rating in 22 minutes.
Alevok was 5 of 5 from the field and scored 10 points to go with his five blocks. The 6-10 sophomore is shooting 78.6 percent from the field this season and has 15 blocks through four games. Alevok finished last season with 25 blocks in 27 games.
Midwestern State hit 14 of 23 shots from 3-point range, and shot 50 percent from the field overall. The Mustangs were 34 of 68, while St. Mary's shot 43 percent. The Rattlers were 39 of 90 from the field overall and 10 of 31 from beyond the arc.
St. Mary's out-rebounded Midwestern State, 62-33, including 29 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second-chance points.
Midwestern State forced 17 turnovers that led to 22 points, while committing just 12 turnovers that led to 14 points for the Rattlers.
Midwestern State was outscored 6-1 in the opening moments of the game, but that was the largest lead of the game for the Rattlers. LaStrap got his own rebound and scored on a put back to tie the game 31-31 with 2:25 to play in the first half.
Taylor scored on back-to-back fast breaks. Gibson and Lewis hit 3-point shots, and Alevok finished a fast break with a layup as MSU closed out the first half on a 12-5 run to take a 43-36 halftime lead.
The Mustangs lead swelled to 18 points with 12:36 to play in regulation, but the Rattlers went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit in half three minutes later. A 12-0 run allowed St. Mary's to take a 73-71 lead with 4:24 remaining in regulation.
The game featured five ties and 10 lead changes.
Coleman led St. Mary's with 27 points on 10 of 24 shooting but missed all six of his 3-point shots.
Dinwiddie hit 6-of-8 shots from beyond the arc and scored 23 points for the Rattlers, who fall to 2-1 for the season.
Tyler Caron was 6 of 10 from the field and finished with 18 points and a team-leading eight rebounds for St. Mary's. Jalon Johnson pitched in 12 points and dished out six assists in defeat.
--MSUMustangs.com--
