Midwestern St. MSUT 9-13,7-10 Lone Star

Western N.M. WNMU 13-10,7-9 Lone Star

Midwestern St. MSUT

9-13,7-10 Lone Star

Final

Feb. 04, 2023

Western N.M. WNMU

13-10,7-9 Lone Star

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Midwestern St. MSUT	30	34	64
Western N.M. WNMU	27	52	79

Summary
Box Score

Trey Reed / Midwestern State University

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/4/2023 7:46:00 PM | Pete Stein / MSU Athletic Communications

Midwestern State fades in second half as WNMU prevails, 79-64

THE LEAD >>>

SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Midwestern State took a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime, but Amarion Cash tied the game with a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half, and Midwestern State would never see the lead again as Western New Mexico pulled away for a 79-64 victory at Drag's Court on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED >>>

There were five lead changes in the first half as Midwestern State overcame an early 7-2 deficit and took its first lead with 11:31 to play in the first half, when Logan Epes hit a 3-pointer for MSU.

John Weger hit a free throw to complete a three-point play, and Midwestern State took its largest lead of the game, 26-19, with 3:19 to play in the first half.

Pierre Sanders hit a pull-up jumper as time expired in the first half and finished the first 20 minutes with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting for the MSU Mustangs.

DJ Heath and Tony Avalos combined to score 21 of 52 second-half points for Western New Mexico, which hit 17-of-36 shots in the second half and limited Midwestern State to 8-of-28 shooting from the field.

Western New Mexico finished the game with 11 layups and four slam dunks and outscored MSU in transition, 17-0.

Midwestern State committed 15 turnovers that led to 17 points for WNMU. MSU only scored five points off six WNMU turnovers.

LEADERS >>>

- MSU senior Jermane Carter finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
- MSU junior Pierre Sanders scored 14 points and dished out three of the nine assists for the Mustangs.
- MSU senior Derrick Ogechi was 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Ogechi also grabbed six rebounds for the Mustangs.
- Senior Tony Avalos scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting to lead WNMU.
- Senior DJ Heath hit all eight of his free throws and scored 13 points despite shooting just 2 of 13 from the field for WNMU.
- Junior Isaiah Lewis was 5 of 6 from the field and scored 12 points for WNMU.
- Senior Amarion Cash was 2 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points for WNMU.

GAME NOTES >>>

- Western New Mexico outrebounded Midwestern State, 38-32, and scored 17 second-chance points with its 14 offensive rebounds. MSU had six second-chance points and nine offensive rebounds.
- WNMU outscored MSU in the paint, 44-16.
- Midwestern State fell to 3-9 on the road this season and has lost six of its last eight games overall.
- Midwestern State is now 10-13 with a 7-10 record in Lone Star Conference play.
- Western New Mexico earned a split of the season series and is now 13-9 with a 7-9 record in league play.