THE LEAD >>>
KINGSVILLE, Texas -- Midwestern State poured in a season-high 15 3-pointers Thursday night at the Steinke Center, but it wasn't enough to hold off a scrappy bunch of wild hogs as Texas A&M-Kingsville came away with a 74-71 win.
The setback places the Mustangs on the brink of elimination for the final Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament berth. MSU's campaign would end with next's regular season finale with a loss in either of its final two games or if Dallas Baptist wins one of its final three games.
Midwestern State currently stands 11th with a Lone Star Conference record of 8-12 and is behind Texas A&M International and DBU -- both tied at 9-10 -- and Western New Mexico at 8-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED >>>
Midwestern State appeared to be on life support when Isaiah Payne's pull-up jumper gave the Javelinas their largest lead of the night at 71-60 with 2:35 to play.
But
Luke Hamilton,
Pierre Sanders, and
Jermane Carter drilled consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Mustangs to within 71-69 with 42 seconds to play.
That's as close as the Mustangs would get despite Texas A&M-Kingsville senior Will Chayer connecting on just one of two free throws to keep the Mustangs within one score with 30 seconds to play.
Derrick Ogechi had a 3-pointer rim out on the next possession allowing Dillon Gooding to put the game away with a pair of free throws after dribbling free for nine seconds.
The smaller Javelinas scrapped to pull down 17 offensive rebounds to match MSU with 17 second-chance points each, while outscoring the Mustangs 12-5 in points off turnovers in the second half.
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THE LEADERS >>>
- Senior
Derrick Ogechi matched his Midwestern State career high with six 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 18 points. He added five rebounds and three assists.
- Junior
Pierre Sanders scored 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers. He also dished out six assists and matched a season high with five steals in 37 minutes.
- Junior
Marquis Davison pitched in 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four rebounds. The Mustangs outscored Texas A&M-Kingsville by 10 points in Davison's 21 minutes on the floor.
- Senior
Luke Hamilton drilled three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points and six rebounds before fouling out in 30 minutes.
- Texas A&M-Kingsville junior Dillon Gooding came off of the bench to score a game-high 19 points going 6-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. It was his fourth double-figure outing in his last five games.
- Junior guard Isaiah Payne pitched in 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting with a 3-pointer.
GAME NOTES >>>
- Midwestern State knocked down a season-high 15 3-pointers while shooting 45.5 percent from the arc in 33 attempts. It was the third game this season with at least 10 made 3-pointers.
- The Mustangs have lost the rebound in each of the last five games.
- Midwestern State's road woes continued as the Mustangs fell to 3-10 in away game this season with their fifth-straight loss away from D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Mustangs lost their seventh game in the last 10 to move to 11-15 on the season with two games to play.
- The LSC East Division-leading Javelinas improved to 18-9 on the season and to 12-7 in overall league play. Texas A&M-Kingsville is 9-4 at Steinke Center.
UP NEXT >>>
Midwestern State plays its final road game of the season Saturday afternoon against Texas A&M International in Laredo. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
