WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State welcomes No. 4-ranked West Texas A&M to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for a Lone Star Conference clash that is scheduled to tip-off Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs lost their final two games of 2023 and face the Buffaloes, who have a seven-game winning streak entering the new year.

Midwestern State (8-3, 2-3) saw a 13-point lead vanish over the final eight minutes as Cameron rallied for an 88-87 victory at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Dec. 19. Jaylan Thomas scored all of his 24 points in the second half, and the Aggies hit six of their final seven shots. Cameron finished the night shooting 48 percent from the field, including 10 of 21 from 3-point range.

Pierre Sanders scored 15 points in defeat and became the 37th player in program history to score 1,000 points at Midwestern State.

Sanders is the Mustangs second-leading scorer this season with 13.8 points per game, and he leads the conference with 5.6 assists per game.

Mason Gibson also scored 15 points in the loss to Cameron and is the leading scorer for Midwestern State this season with 15.1 points per game. Gibson is 56 of 74 (75.7 percent) from the free-throw line. The sophomore from Allen, Texas, has attempted the second-most free throws in the LSC this season and has made the third-most free-throw shots in the conference.

Will Shepherd, who is coming off a team-high 19-point performance against Cameron, is the third-leading scorer with 13 points per game for the Mustangs. Shepherd and Austin Lewis are both averaging 2.09 3-pointers per game, which is ninth in the LSC.

Lewis, who is scoring 9.2 points per game, is 23 of 56 from beyond the arc (41.1 percent), and Shepherd has hit 23 of 58 attempts from long range (39.7 percent). Midwestern State is shooting 33.1 percent from 3-point range as a team.

Bakari LaStrap is the fourth-leading scorer for the Mustangs with 10.5 points per game and is second on the team with 3.6 assists per game, which ranks ninth in the conference.

Midwestern State is the third-highest scoring team in the league with 88.6 points per game, which is 17th in the nation.

The reserves are accounting for 31.7 points per game, which gives MSU the most bench points in the LSC and 28th most in the country.

The Mustangs lead the conference with 23 fast-break points per game, and only Gannon of the PSAC is averaging more among NCAA Division II schools with 32.91 fast-break points per game.

Midwestern State is second in the LSC and 33rd in the nation with 39.82 rebounds per game. Reggie Hill is the leading rebounder for MSU with 6.7 boards per game. Shepherd and Amaechi Chukwu are both grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game.

MSU is third in the league with 9.5 steals per game, and LaStrap and Sanders are both among the top-10 in steals. LaStrap is averaging 1.82 steals per game, and Sanders is accounting for 1.73 steals per game.

The Mustangs are forcing 16.9 turnovers per game, which is the second-highest total in the conference and 27th in the nation. MSU is averaging 12.7 turnovers per game and the plus-4.2 turnover margin is third-best in the conference and 26th in the nation.

Duncan Alevok is leading the conference and is ninth in the nation with 27 total blocks. He averages 2.45 blocks per game, which leads the league and is 12th in the nation.

Opponents are scoring 80.2 points per game against the Mustangs, which is the 13th scoring defense in the LSC.

Midwestern State scored a 92-86 victory in its last encounter with West Texas A&M. Sanders scored a career-high 36 points as the Mustangs ended a six-game winning streak for the Buffaloes when the two schools met at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last season.

MSU is 34-45 in the all-time series with West Texas A&M and has dropped 10 of its last 12 meetings with the Buffaloes.

West Texas A&M (10-1, 4-0) has won 17 consecutive conference match-ups and is 3-0 in true road games this season. WT is coming off a 108-100 overtime victory against Rogers State at the High Desert Classic in Las Vegas. Ahamed Mohammed led the team with a career-high 25 points and nine assists. Zach Toussaint (23), Ryland Holt (22), and Larry Wise (18) also scored in double figures.

Wise is the leading scorer for the Buffaloes and fourth in the LSC with 19.8 points per game. Toussaint, who is 26 of 50 from beyond the arc (52 percent), is scoring 12.6 points per game.

Kieran Elliot, who leads WT with 6.9 rebounds per game, is the third-leading scorer along with Ryland Holt, as both players are scoring 10.7 points per game. Elliot is shooting 59.8 percent from the field.

West Texas A&M is shooting 47.1 percent from the field, which is seventh-best in the LSC. The Buffaloes are the sixth-best three-point shooting team in the league at 35.9 percent.

The Buffaloes make 71.4 percent of their free-throws and make 18.4 free throws per game, which is second most in the conference and 12th in the nation. They attempt the second-most free throws in the league and the 13th most in NCAA Division II with 25.8 free throws per game.

Four players are averaging five rebounds or more, and the Buffaloes are fourth in the league with 38.8 rebounds per game, including 12.7 offensive rebounds per game, which is also fourth in the conference.

Wise is grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game, and Noah Pagotto pulls down 5.5 rebounds per contest. Ryland is responsible for 5.1 boards per outing.

The Buffaloes are only allowing 71.2 points per game and the 14.1 scoring margin is fourth best in the LSC — 22nd in the nation.

WT only turns the ball over 11.2 times per game, which is third-best in the LSC, and the Buffaloes are forcing 15 turnovers a game. The 3.8 turnover margin is fifth in the LSC and 33rd in the nation.

Holt is second in the conference with 18 blocked shots this season, and he is fourth in the league with 1.5 blocks per game. The 6-6 senior has 19 total steals and is averaging 1.58 steals per game.

Midwestern State faces Lubbock Christian on Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 

--MSUMustangs.com--