SAN ANTONIO -- Midwestern State is on the road for its rematch with St. Mary's at Bill Greehey Arena on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs won the first meeting in overtime, 108-104, but this encounter will count in the conference standings.

The Mustangs rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 99-78 victory over UT Tyler at D. L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Will Sheppard led the team with a career-high 20-point performance, hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field, including a season-best four from 3-point range. MSU scored 34 points off 24 turnovers and shot a season-high 57.8 percent from the field.

Midwestern State is 7-1 for the first time since 2015-16. That squad finished the season with a 24-6 record as hosts of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

Austin Lewis hit all six of his shots from 3-point range and converted a critical four-point play at the end of regulation as Midwestern State defeated the Rattlers in a non-conference encounter at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Nov. 18.

Pierre Sanders posted the first triple-double by a Mustang in 22 years. The senior from Hutto, Texas, had six points, three assists and two rebounds in the overtime period to finish with 14 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs.

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.

Will 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 plus-20 rating in 22 minutes.

Duncan Alevok was 5 of 5 from the field and scored 10 points to go with five blocks.

St. Mary's leads the all-time series, 19-18, but the Mustangs have won the last two meetings, including a 78-71 victory last season.

Midwestern State is making its first appearance at Bill Greehey Arena since a 61-54 loss to the Rattlers in January of 2017. The Mustangs are 1-11 all-time when visiting St. Mary's with the only victory coming in November of 2009. Chris Hagan hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points in an 89-71 victory during the River City Classic.

The Mustangs are the second-highest scoring team in the Lone Star Conference with 91.8 points per game and fourth in the league with a scoring margin of 12.6.

Midwestern State is shooting 47.6 percent from the field overall and 34.2 percent from 3-point range. At the free-throw line, the Mustangs are hitting 75.1 percent of their shots.

Lewis and Shepherd are among the top-five in the LSC in made 3-pointers this season. Lewis is third with 18, and Shepherd is fifth with 17. Both players are shooting better than 42 percent from beyond the arc.

Gibson is the leading scorer for MSU with 14.5 points per game. Sanders is scoring 13.6 points per game, and Shepherd is adding 11.8 points per game. LaStrap pitches in 11.4, and Lewis contributes 10.5 points per game.

The Mustangs are leading the conference and are second in the nation with 24.00 fast break points per game this season. MSU is also leading the conference in blocks per game (5.2), defensive rebounds per game (29.0), and bench points per game (35.75).

Alevok is the leading shot blocker in the league with 22 total blocks, which is third-most among Division II shot blockers. Alevok is averaging a conference-leading 2.75 blocks per game, which is sixth-best in the nation.

Midwestern State is grabbing the second-most rebounds in the league with 40.88 boards per game, and Sanders has the most total rebounds with 37 boards in eight games (4.6 rebounds per game). Shepherd has pulled down 36 rebounds (4.5 rpg).

Reggie Hill, who has appeared in four games, is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. Amaechi Chukwu is pulling down 5.2 rebounds per game in five appearances.

Sanders is leading the conference with 47 total assists (ninth in the nation) and 5.9 assists per game (11th in the nation). Sanders is seventh in the nation and the LSC leader in assist/turnover ratio of 4.7.

As a team, the Mustangs are third in the conference with 17.4 assists per game.

Three guards are among the top-11 LSC players in steals. Sanders leads the teams and is third in the league with 17 steals. LaStrap is fourth in the conference with 16 steals, and Gibson is 11th with 12 steals.

The Mustangs are second in the conference and 14th in the nation with 11.1 steals per game. MSU is forcing 18.75 turnovers per game, which is second in the LSC and 18th in the nation.

Opponents are shooting 40.9 percent against MSU, which is boasting the third-best field-goal percentage defense in the LSC.

St. Mary's is coming off a 101-82 loss to Eastern New Mexico and is 4-2 overall with a 1-1 conference record. The Rattlers are 3-0 at home this season and are averaging 85.3 points per game, which is the fourth-highest average in the LSC.

Davion Coleman is the leading scorer for St. Mary's with 16.3 points per game. Keith Dinwiddie, who shoots 44.8 percent from 3-point range and 48.2 percent overall, is averaging 12 points per game. Tyler Caron averages 11.7 points per game, and Jalon Johnson is pitching in 11 points per game for the Rattlers.

Dinwiddie is ninth in the LSC with 2.7 made 3-pointers per game.

St. Mary's leads the league and is 21st in the nation with 41.67 rebounds per game, and the Rattlers lead the conference and fifth in the country with 16 offensive rebounds per game.

St. Mary's leads the conference with 28.2 free-throw attempts and 20.8 made free throws per game. The Rattlers 74 percent shooting from the foul line is ninth-best in the conference.

The reserves are scoring 33.5 points per game for St. Mary's, which places them third in the conference for bench points.

Johnson is third in the LSC with 4.5 assists per game, and he is second in the league with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.38.

Lachlan Bofinger is third in the conference and 18th in the nation with three double-doubles through six games. Bofinger had nine points and seven rebounds in the first meeting with MSU. His last double-double was 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to ENMU on Saturday.

The 6-7 Australian is averaging a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game, which is fifth-most in the LSC. Bofinger pulls down the second-most offensive rebounds in the conference with 3.17 per game.

The Rattlers are fourth in the LSC and 21st in the nation with 10.5 steals per game. Diego Gonzalez averages 2.17 steals per game, which places him fifth in the conference. Johnson is seventh in the league with two steals per game, and Davion Coleman is 12th in the LSC with 1.67 steals per game.

Bubba Meyer is the first-year head coach at St. Mary's and is 4-2. Meyer was named the 17th head coach in Rattlers history, though only the fourth in 60 years as he follows the longest-tenured and winningest coaches in Rattler history in Ed Messbarger (1964-1978), his father Buddy Meyer (1978-2005) and Jim Zeleznak (2005-2023).

Meyer has spent his entire life as a part of the men's basketball program at St. Mary's. He grew up watching his father, Buddy Meyer coach the Rattlers for 27 years and he played for his dad, earning All-Conference honors in 2000. He spent 22 seasons on the sideline as either assistant or associate head coach, as immediately upon the completion of his playing career he transitioned to a coach.

Justin Leslie is in his fifth season at Midwestern State and his 17th campaign as a collegiate head coach. Leslie has an all-time record of 320-187, including 12 seasons at Azusa Pacific. Leslie is 54-61 at Midwestern State.

The Mustangs continue their road trip on Friday as they visit St. Edward's for the first time since November of 2009.
 

--MSUMustangs.com--