SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Midwestern State won its first encounter with Western New Mexico at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last month, 70-60. The Mustangs go for a sweep of the season series on Saturday afternoon at Drag's Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CST).
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (10-12, 7-9) vs. WESTERN NEW MEXICO (12-9, 6-9)

Saturday, Feb. 4 | 3 p.m.
Drag's Court | Silver City, N.M.

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 14-2

LAST MEETING | Derrick Ogechi poured in four 3-pointers on his way to a 16-point, four-rebound, and four-assist performance, leading Midwestern State to a 70-60 win over Western New Mexico at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last month. Midwestern State dominated the first half on both ends of the floor to take a 37-17 lead into the break. MSU limited the WNMU Mustangs to 7-of-25 shooting (28 percent), while shooting 50 percent from the field (15-of-30) with five 3-pointers. Midwestern followed a pair of 7-0 spurts with an 8-0 run, ignited by a pair of triples from redshirt-freshman Mason Gibson to take a 29-10 lead with 6:21 remaining in the first half. MSU led by as many as 22 points in the opening half, allowing the Mustangs to hold off WNMU's furious second-half rally to secure the win. Senior forward Jermane Carter finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. John Weger was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field to finish with 12 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Weger scored all of his points in the second half.

LAST TIME OUT | Eastern New Mexico put the defensive clamps on Midwestern State leading from tip to buzzer to claim a 66-51 Lone Star Conference win Thursday night at Greyhound Arena. Eastern New Mexico restricted Midwestern State to a 29.4 shooting percentage including a 1-for-17 performance from the 3-point arc. The Greyhounds took control by scoring 12 consecutive points early in the first half and took a 37-19 lead into halftime. ENMU led by as many as 30 points in the second half before the Mustangs trimmed that lead in half at the final buzzer. MSU freshman Jared Washington battled his way to a season-high 18 points despite shooting 4-of-16 from the floor. The Mansfield native hit 10 of his 11 free throws, while grabbing five rebounds. MSU played the Greyhounds even in Washington's 23 minutes on the floor. Midwestern State shot 29.4 percent in Thursday's loss. It was the second worst shooting of the season for the Mustangs, who were limited to 28.8 percent shooting against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Nov. 17.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 3-8 on the road this season and lost its last three games as the visitor… Justin Leslie is 311-177 (.637) in his 16th season as a head coach…MSU is 45-56 (.446) under Leslie, who is in his fourth season with the university…Mustangs are 16-34 (.320) on the road during the Leslie era…MSU is 2-1 against the WNMU Mustangs under Leslie, but MSU lost its only visit to Silver City in that span … Mustangs have won four of the last five meetings …Midwestern State is 4-2 all-time in Silver City…MSU is 13th in the LSC with 69.2 points per game and 14th with a 42.8 shooting percentage from the field…Pierre Sanders is the leading scorer with 12.5 points per game…Jermane Carter averages 12.4 points per game… Marquis Davison is scoring 10.1 points per game…Derrick Ogechi is averaging 9.5 points per game…Carter has 901 career points at MSU, averaging 12.9 points per game for his career…Midwestern State is 153 of 504 from beyond the arc (.304), which is 15th in the conference for 3-point shooting percentage…MSU is fifth in the conference with 22.9 3-point attempts per game…Mustangs make 7.0 3-pointers per game, which is eighth-most in the conference…Ogechi is 42 of 131 from 3-point range (.321)…Ogechi is 10th in the LSC with 42 total 3-pointers …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 63 total assists (2.86 assists per game)…Sanders has 191 career assists in three seasons (2.85 assists per game)…MSU is 276 of 400 (.690) from the free-throw line, which is the 11th-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Mustangs are 12th in the conference with 18.2 free-throw attempts per game…Carter is 66 of 111 (.595) from the free-throw line…Carter has the sixth-most attempts from the foul line and has made the 13th-most free throws in the conference…Sanders is 62 of 74 (.838) from the free-throw line and has the ninth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…MSU is eighth in the conference and 63rd in the nation, allowing 67.6 points per game…Midwestern State holds opponents to 42 percent shooting from the field — second-best field-goal percentage defense in the conference and 58th in the nation…MSU is holding opponents to 31.9 percent shooting from 3-point range, which is the sixth-best 3-point shooting percentage defense in the LSC and 58th 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…+1.2 rebound margin is eighth-best in the LSC… Carter is third in the conference and 35th in the nation with 185 total rebounds…Carter is second in the league and 58th in the nation with 8.4 rebounds per game…Carter is third in the conference and 29th in the nation with 3.14 offensive rebounds per game…Carter has 502 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 fourth in the league with 37 total steals and third with 1.68 steals per game…Sanders has 95 career steals in 67 career games (1.42 steals per game) at MSU…MSU is seventh in the league with 12.8 turnovers per game and is forcing 11.77 turnovers, which is 15th in the conference…-1.0 turnover margin is 13th in the LSC…MSU blocks 3.1 shots per game — sixth in the conference…Carter and Duncan Alevok are tied for seventh in the league with 20 total blocks…MSU leads the conference and is 81st in the nation with 15.7 fouls per game…

SCOUTING WESTERN NEW MEXICO | Western New Mexico is 6-4 at home this season following a 73-57 victory over Cameron on Thursday night…DJ Heath and Joshuwan Johnson each scored 15 points in the victory for the Mustangs, who held Cameron to 30 percent shooting from the field. The Aggies were 3 of 25 from beyond the arc…Zane Gibson is in his third season as the head coach at Western New Mexico and his record is 23-35 (.397)…Mustangs are 13-9 (.591) at home under Gibson…Gibson is 0-2 against MSU with both meetings in Wichita Falls…WNMU is scoring 69.7 points per game, which ranks 12th in the LSC, and the Mustangs are 10th in the league with a shooting percentage of .444…Tony Avalos is the leading scorer with nine points per game…Joshuwan Johnson is scoring 8.8 points per game overall and 10.4 points per game against LSC opponents…DJ Heath and Keith Littles are both averaging 8.6 points per game this season… WNMU is 13th in the conference with 11.6 assists per game…Heath leads the Mustangs with 48 assists (2.29 assists per game) and Littles has 47 (2.24 assists per game)… Johnson is 36 of 87 (.414) from 3-point range…WNMU is 129 of 390 (.331) from beyond the arc…Mustangs are ninth in the LSC in 3-point percentage…WNMU is 10th in the league with 18.6 3-point attempts per game and 6.2 3-point shots made per game…Mustangs are 271 of 413 (.656) at the free-throw line — the lowest free-throw percentage in the LSC…WNMU makes 13 free throws per game, which is 12th in the conference, and the Mustangs are ninth in the league with 20 attempts per game…WNMU is ninth in the league with 33.73 rebounds per game…Olamide Pedersen averages 5.6 rebounds per game…Pedersen is 12th in the LSC with 2.05 offensive rebounds per game…Mustangs are ninth in the league with 9.77 offensive rebounds per game…-0.6 rebounding margin is 13th in the conference…Opponents are scoring 71.3 points per game, which is 12th in the conference…-1.6 scoring margin is 14th in the league…WNMU is fifth in the league with 3.4 blocks per game…Pederson is second in the LSC with 39 total blocks and 1.86 blocks per game…WNMU averages 14 turnovers per game, which is 14th in the conference…WNMU is averaging 5.5 steals per game, which is 14th in the league…Johnson leads the Mustangs with 23 total steals (1.10 steals per game), and Avalos has 19 steals this season (0.90 steals per game)…Mustangs force 14.95 turnovers per game, which is sixth-best in the LSC…0.0 turnover margin is 12th in the league…WNMU commits 19.4 fouls per game, which is 12th in the LSC and 265th in the nation…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State is back home on Thursday night to face UT Permian Basin for the second time this season. The Falcons staved off a comeback by the Mustangs in Odessa last month and prevailed at UTPB Gym Complex, 79-76. Tipoff at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.