WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State is coming off a thrilling 89-79 double-overtime win against Angelo State and has won three of its last four games as UT Permian Basin visits D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Pierre Sanders scored 29 of his game-high 31 points after halftime as the Mustangs knocked off the No. 19-ranked Rams on Thursday night. Will Shepherd hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to tie the game, 72-72. Shepherd earned his first double-double for the Mustangs with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-8 junior from Dallas was 4 of 11 from the field and hit 3-of-5 shots from 3-point range in the much-needed victory for MSU, which is 11-5 overall and 5-5 in conference play.

Sanders is the second-leading scorer for the Mustangs this season. The 5-10 senior guard from Hutto, Texas, is averaging 15.6 points per game.

Mason Gibson is the top scorer for Midwestern State with 16.8 points per game, but he did not play in the victory over Angelo State due to an injury.

Shepherd has been the most prolific 3-point shooter for the Mustangs, who are shooting 32.9 percent from beyond the arc as a team this season. Shepherd is 33 of 83 (39.8%) from 3-point range and is scoring 12.5 points per game.

Bakari LaStrap, who returned from a two-game absence due to injury on Thursday, is scoring 11 points per game and dishing out 3.1 assists per contest.

LaStrap and Sanders are both averaging 1.5 steals per game, and the Mustangs are fifth in the league with eight steals per contest.

Midwestern State is forcing the second-most turnovers in the LSC with 14.9 per game. The Mustangs are committing only 12.2 turnovers per game. The plus-2.7 turnover margin is fourth best in the conference and 49th among NCAA Division II programs.

The Mustangs are pulling down the second-most overall rebounds among LSC schools and are 22nd among NCAA Division II programs with 40.5 per game. MSU is third in the league and 29th in the nation with 13.2 offensive rebounds per game.

Reggie Hill, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the double-overtime win on Thursday, is the leading rebounder for the Mustangs and eighth in the conference with seven boards per game. The 6-8 junior from Melbourne, Florida is 15th in the conference with 2.08 offensive rebounds per game. Hill registered his first career double-double and was 5 of 5 from the field, hitting three 3-pointers in the victory over Angelo State.

Shepherd is pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game, while Amaechi Chukwu is averaging 4.8 boards per game. Sanders is grabbing 4.5 caroms per contest, including two offensive rebounds per game, which is 17th in the conference.

Duncan Alevok leads the LSC and is 16th in the nation with 31 total blocks this season, and he leads the league with 1.94 blocks per game.

UT Permian Basin leads the all-time series with the Mustangs, 9-8, but Midwestern State has won four of the last five meetings, including a 65-59 victory at home last season, when Sanders scored 25 points and dished out five assists. MSU is 6-1 when hosting the Falcons, whose only victory at D.L. Ligon Coliseum was a 79-76 triumph in February of 2018.

Reggie Prudhomme hit a game-winning jump shot with four seconds remaining in regulation, and Cameron upended UT Permian Basin at Aggie Gym on Thursday night, 74-72. The Falcons suffered their third consecutive loss on a four-game road trip and fell to 10-6 overall with a 5-5 record in the Lone Star Conference.

DJ Armstrong was the leading scorer for UTPB with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, and Lathaniel Bastian was 8 of 10 on his way to 16 points in the loss. Maison Adeleye scored 12 points as the Falcons shot 49 percent as a team, including 8 of 19 from beyond the arc.

UT Permian Basin is the sixth-highest scoring team in the conference with 80.3 points per game, and the Falcons have the second-best scoring defense in the league, holding opponents to 67.2 points per game. UTPB has the third-best scoring margin in the LSC and 18th-best in the nation at 13.1.

Bastian is averaging a team-leading 13.4 points per game, and Alex Matthews is scoring 13.3 points per game. Three other players are averaging in double figures. Zy Wright (12.1), Keyon Craddock (11.8) and Armstrong (10.8).

Armstrong is fourth in the conference with 2.63 3-pointers made per game. He also has the third-best 3-point percentage in the league at 43.3 (42 of 97).

Bastian is also the Falcons leading rebounder and he leads the LSC with 10.6 boards per game. He is second in the league with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game. However, UTPB is 12th in the conference with 34.44 rebounds per game.

Craddock has made 56 of 59 free throws this season and has the second-best percentage among NCAA Division II free-throw shooters at 94.9 percent.

The Falcons shoot 78.2 percent from the free-throw line as a team, which is third-best in the conference and 14th in the nation. UTPB average 23.3 free throws per game, fifth-most in the conference and 39th most among NCAA Division II schools.

Craddock leads UTPB and is 15th in the LSC with 3.3 assists per game.

UT Permian Basin is forcing 14.2 turnovers per game and is only committing 11.5 turnovers per game, which is fourth-best in the league. The Falcons have the fourth-best turnover margin in the LSC at plus-2.7.

Bastian, a 6-8 senior from Nassau, Bahamas, is third in the league with 23 blocks and averages 1.44 blocks per game.

Kyle Tolin is in his third season as the head coach at UTPB and has a record of 39-37 with the Falcons (.513). Tolin was the head coach at Arkansas-Monticello for seven seasons and had 108 victories with 89 losses while guiding the Boll Weevils. Tolin scored over 1,000 points during his four-year playing career at Oklahoma Baptist and was a two-time All-SAC honorable mention. He was named OBU's Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 2004.

Justin Leslie is in his fifth season with Midwestern State and his 17th season as a head coach at the collegiate level. His career record is 324-186 (.635) and he is 58-65 (.472) at MSU. Leslie competed as a 6-8 center at Azusa Pacific from 1996-2001. He is one of just five players in Golden State Athletic Conference history to play on four conference championship teams.

Midwestern State embarks on a four-game road trip as it travels to Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday. Tipoff at the Stubblefield Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 

--MSUMustangs.com--