LAREDO, Texas – Midwestern State wraps up its road schedule with a matchup against Texas A&M International at TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Mustangs have won their last four meetings with the Dustdevils.

MIDWESTERN STATE (11-15, 8-12) vs. TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (16-11, 19-10)
Saturday, Feb. 18 | 1 p.m.
TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building| Laredo, Texas

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 4-1

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State continued to lean on its defensive effort and intensity last season in its first trip to the Kinesiology and Convocation Building. But Terrell Wilson and Jermane Carter combined for 34 points of efficient offense to carry the Mustangs to a 66-61 win over Texas A&M International. Texas A&M International never led in the second half, but did manage to tie the game on three occasions. The Mustangs answered with 3-point makes by Pierre Sanders and Terrell Wilson on the first two occasions before Wilson and Amaechi Chukwu converted layups on consecutive possessions to give MSU the lead for good at 57-51 with 5:30 to play. Junior guard Terrell Wilson went 6-of-7 from the field with three 3-pointers before hitting four consecutive free throws in the final minute to finish with a game-high 19 points. Senior Jermane Carter had three dunks and went 6-of-8 from the floor with a 3-pointer on the way to his 19th double-digit scoring performance of the season. The 6-7 forward finished with 15 point and four rebounds. Midwestern State outscored TAMIU by team-high eight points with Luke Hamilton on the floor. The senior forward scored his only points from the field on a post move in the closing minutes and made his first appearance of the season the free throw line going 3-for-4. He closed the game with five points and five rebounds while making his fifth start of the year.

LAST TIME OUT | 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. 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.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 3-10 on the road this season and lost its last five games as the visitor… Justin Leslie is 312-180 (.634) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 46-59 (.438) under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Mustangs are 16-36 (.308) on the road during the Leslie era…MSU is 4-0 against the Dustdevils under Leslie, including a 66-61 victory in Laredo last year…Midwestern State is 1-0 all-time in Laredo…MSU is 13th in the LSC with 68.3 points per game and 14th with a 42.7 shooting percentage from the field…Pierre Sanders is the leading scorer with 12.8 points per game…Jermane Carter averages 12.4 points per game…Derrick Ogechi is averaging 9.8 points per game… Marquis Davison is scoring 9.7 points per game…Carter has 947 career points at MSU, averaging 12.9 points per game for his career…Midwestern State is 175 of 570 from beyond the arc (.307), which is 16th in the conference for 3-point shooting percentage…MSU is fifth in the conference with 22.8 3-point attempts per game…Mustangs make 7.0 3-pointers per game, which is eighth-most in the conference…Ogechi is 49 of 148 from 3-point range (.331)…Ogechi is ninth in the LSC with 1.96 3-pointers per game…Ogechi has the fifth-most attempts from beyond the arc in the LSC…Midwestern State is ninth in the conference with 12.0 assists per game…Sanders is 12th in the league with 76 total assists…Sanders has 204 career assists in three seasons (2.9 assists per game)…MSU is 310 of 448 (.692) from the free-throw line, which is the 11th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Mustangs are 13th in the conference with 17.9 free-throw attempts per game…Carter is 71 of 120 (.592) from the free-throw line…Carter has the seventh-most attempts from the foul line and has made the 13th-most free throws in the conference…Sanders is 77 of 91 (.846) from the free-throw line and has the ninth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…MSU is eighth in the conference and 58th in the nation, allowing 67.8 points per game…Midwestern State holds opponents to 41.8 percent shooting from the field — second-best field-goal percentage defense in the conference and 49th in the nation…MSU is holding opponents to 31.3 percent shooting from 3-point range, which is the fourth-best 3-point shooting percentage defense in the LSC and 32nd in the nation…+1.6 scoring margin is 10th in the LSC…MSU leads the conference and is 64th in the nation with 37.50 rebounds per game…Mustangs are sixth in the league and 62nd in the nation with 11.36 offensive rebounds per game…+0.5 rebound margin is 10th-best in the LSC… Carter is third in the conference and 44th in the nation with 213 total rebounds…Carter is second in the league and 59th in the nation with 8.3 rebounds per game…Carter is second in the conference and 28th in the nation with 3.14 offensive rebounds per game…Carter has 530 career rebounds at MSU, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game over three seasons…Midwestern State is 13th in the conference with 5.6 steals per game…Sanders is third in the league with 42 total steals and second with 1.68 steals per game…Sanders has 105 career steals in 71 career games (1.47 steals per game) at MSU…MSU is ninth in the league with 12.9 turnovers per game and is forcing 11.44 turnovers, which is 15th in the conference…-1.5 turnover margin is 15th in the LSC…MSU blocks 3.2 shots per game — fifth in the conference…Carter is seventh in the league with 26 total blocks, and Duncan Alevok is eighth with 24 blocks…MSU leads the conference and is 80th in the nation with 15.6 fouls per game…
 
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL | TAMIU is 9-5 at home this season…Dustdevils have a three-game winning streak and have won four of their last five games overall, and the only loss in that span came to UAFS in double overtime, 71-67…TAMIU is coming off a 76-71 victory over Cameron on Thursday night, when graduate student Greg Bowie II finished with 16 points, two rebounds, and an assist… Jermaine Drewey chipped in 13 points and five rebounds, and junior Tyrese Davis added 11 points and four rebounds and sophomore Lonzo Rand scored 10 points…Mac McConnell, who graduated from Tarleton State, is in his third season as a head coach at TAMIU…McConnell is in his fifth year as a head coach and is 43-78 (.355), including two years at East Central…McConnell is 30-39 (.435) at TAMIU…TAMIU is 14^th in the conference with 67.2 points per game…Dustdevils are shooting 45.3 percent from the field, which is seventh-best in the LSC…Jermaine Drewey is the leading scorer for the Dustdevils with 10.6 points per game…Greg Bowie is averaging 9.7 points per game…TAMIU is averaging 11.3 assists per game, which is 15^th in the LSC…TAMIU is 145 of 469 (.309) from 3-point range…Dustdevils are 14^th in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage…TAMIU is 15^th in the league with 17 attempts from 3-point range per game and 5.3 3-pointers made per game…Drewey is 43 of 122 (.352) from beyond the arc…TAMIU is 392 of 576 (.681) from the free-throw line…Bowie is 72 of 82 (.878) from the foul line the seventh-best percentage in the conference…TAMIU is 16^th in the LSC, averaging 30.54 rebounds per game and 8.04 offensive rebounds per game…Tiras Morton is fifth in the league with 5.04 rebounds per game…+2.0 rebound margin is seventh-best in the conference…TAMIU leads the conference and is 14^th in the nation, allowing just 62.7 points per game…+4.5 scoring margin is eighth in the league…Dustdevils average 3.2 blocks per game, which is seventh in the conference…Tiras Morton is 10^th in the conference with 21 blocks…TAMIU averages 7.2 steals per game, seventh-most in the LSC…John Achebe is seventh in the conference with 37 steals…Dustdevils force the eighth-most turnovers in the league at 14.23…TAMIU averages 12.2 turnovers per game, which is sixth in the conference…+2.1 turnover margin is fifth-best in the LSC..TAMIU commits 18.5 fouls per game, ninth-most in the LSC…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State is home for senior night on Thursday and will face the Cameron Aggies in the season finale at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.