SAN ANTONIO -- Midwestern State is on the road for a Monday matinee with St. Mary's. The Mustangs and Rattlers are meeting for the second time this season, but this game will not count in the Lone Star Conference standings. Tipoff at Bill Greehey Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Midwestern State is 6-2 overall and improved its conference record to 3-1 with a 62-52 victory at UT Tyler on Dec. 6.

The Mustangs went on a 23-0 run in the first half and defeated the Patriots, 62-52, as Mason Gibson finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the victory.

Midwestern State opened the conference campaign with a resounding 73-50 triumph over St. Mary's at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Nov. 21. Pierre Sanders scored 16 points and dished out seven assists in the victory. Will Shepherd finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Mustangs have won their last four meetings with the Rattlers to take a 20-19 lead in the all-time series, including an 83-76 victory in San Antonio last year, and the Mustangs improved to 2-11 as the visitor in the all-time series.

Gibson is the second-leading scorer in the LSC with 19.5 points per game, and he finished with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the first meeting. Gibson has scored more than 30 points twice this season and more than 20 points on four occasions.

Sanders is the second -leading scorer for the Mustangs with 11.8 points per game and he is shooting 46.4 percent from the field (32 of 69), and the fifth-year senior has knocked down 10 of his 23 attempts from 3-point range (43.5 percent).

Sanders continues to lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.3, which is the 19th-best ratio in the nation among NCAA Division II players. Sanders is fourth in the LSC with 4.1 assists per game.

Reggie Hill and Shepherd are both among the top-eight rebounders in the LSC. Hill is fourth in the league with 7.4 rebounds per game, and Shepherd is the eighth-leading rebounder in the conference with 6.4 boards per game.

Midwestern State has the second-best field goal percentage defense in the Lone Star Conference, holding opponents to 39.3 percent shooting, which is 20th among NCAA Division II programs.

The Mustangs are outscoring opponents, 75.6– 70.6, and shooting 44 percent from the field, including the fifth-best three-point shooting percentage in the LSC at 39 percent with the most attempts from beyond the arc — 25 per game.

St. Mary's has reeled off three consecutive victories since suffering the loss at Midwestern State. The Rattlers are coming off a 98-71 shellacking of Sul Ross State, improving its overall record to 5-2 and its conference mark to 3-1.

Junior guard Damani Claxton from the The Bronx in New York leads St. Mary's with 15 points per game. Claxton was just 1-of-11 in the first meeting with MSU and finished with just four points.

Claxton had nine steals in two games, including six in the win over Sul Ross State, and was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week. He also leads the Rattlers with three assists and 2.43 steals per contest.

Lachlan Bofinger is scoring 11 points and grabbing 9.3 rebounds a game for St. Mary's this season. The senior guard had eight points and 12 rebounds in the loss to MSU last month.

Bofinger ranks second in the league with 9.3 rebounds per game and has posted three double-doubles this season. Bofinger needs four more points to reach 400 in his St. Mary's career and is six shy of 600 for his collegiate career.

The Rattlers lead the conference with 17.4 offensive rebounds per game and are second in the league with a plus 9.9 rebounding margin.

Freshman guard Lawyer Jones was the leading scorer against the Mustangs as he finished 4 of 7 from the field and scored 10 points in the November matchup. Jones is averaging 6.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game coming off the bench for the Rattlers.

St. Mary's has attempted the fourth-most free throws in the LSC this season with 23.6 attempts per game, but the Rattlers are 15th in the league with a 60 percent conversion rate from the foul line.

In the first meeting of the season, the Rattlers were 3 of 12 from the free-throw line, and MSU was 7 of 9.

The Stang Gang outshot St. Mary's last month 47.5 percent to 31 percent from the field.

Midwestern State makes one more home appearance before the Christmas break. The Mustangs host Arlington Baptist at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.