WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State has a three-game winning streak as it returns home to face UT Permian Basin at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Thursday night, and Saturday afternoon the Angelo State Rams visit the Mustangs.

Midwestern State (17-5, 12-4) is sitting fourth in the LSC standings, two games clear of UT Permian Basin and one game behind Lubbock Christian.

Dallas Baptist is 15-2 atop the standings, while St. Mary's is 14-2. Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State are tied in sixth place with 10-7 records. St. Edward's is holding on to eighth place with a 9-7 record, while West Texas A&M is on the heels of the Hilltoppers with a 9-8 record.

The Mustangs' four conference losses have been by a total of nine points.

The Mustangs swept their road trip at Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico last week, while UT Permian Basin suffered back-to-back losses at West Texas A&M (68-54) and Eastern New Mexico (83-80).

Midwestern State can match its longest winning streak of the season with a victory over the Falcons. MSU has put together two four-game winning streaks this season.

Mason Gibson, who is the fourth-leading scorer in the LSC with 16.8 points per game, has scored double figures in 19 of his 21 appearances this season, and scored at least 20 points in seven games.

Pierre Sanders is the second-leading scorer for the Mustangs this season with 12.7 points per game, and he is shooting 50.7 percent from the field (104 of 205). Sanders is shooting 46.4 percent from 3-point range (32 of 69) and is an 86.7 percent free-throw shooter (39 of 45).

The fifth-year senior guard from Hutto, Texas, is second in the conference with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.77, and he is seventh in the league with 3.8 assists per game.

Will Shepherd averages 9.6 points per game and is the second-leading rebounder for the Mustangs with 5.3 boards per game.

Hill is the fourth-leading rebounder in the conference with 6.9 rebounds per game. The 6-8 senior forward from Melbourne, Florida is averaging seven points per game.

Bakari LaStrap, who missed the first eight games of the season due to injury, scores 8.6 points per game for the Mustangs with 2.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. LaStrap shoots 44 percent from the field (44 of 100) and has hit 31-of-38 free throws (81.6 %).

Jonathan Jackson hits 2.2 3-pointers per game and averages 8.1 points per game for the Mustangs. The 6-4 guard from Sachse, Texas, is 41-of-104 (39.4 %) from 3-point range.

The Mustangs are second in the LSC and 24th in the nation with a 3-point shooting percentage of 38.2, hitting 9.5 3-pointers per game, which leads the conference. MSU has hit at least 10 3-pointers in 11 games this season.

Midwestern State has an effective field goal percentage of 53.2 percent, which is fourth-best in the LSC. Effective field goal percentage accounts for the added value of three-point shots. MSU attempts the most 3-point shots in the LSC with 24.8 attempts per game.

Midwestern State is the fourth-highest scoring team in the LSC with 77.5 points per game while holding opponents to 65.8 points, which is the best scoring defense in the league. The plus-11.6 scoring margin is third-best in the LSC and 19th among NCAA Division II programs.

The Mustangs are sixth in the nation and lead the league with a field goal percentage defense of 39.1 percent, and opponents are only hitting 28.8 percent of their 3-point attempts against the LSC's best 3-point percentage defense, which is fifth best in the nation.

Sanders and Gibson lead the Mustangs with 40 and 37 steals respectively, and MSU is fourth in the league with nine steals per game. Midwestern State is forcing 13.4 turnovers per game while only committing 10.9 turnovers, which is second-fewest in the LSC.

The Mustangs are scoring the second-most fast-break points in the LSC with 14.5 per game.

Midwestern State is committing the fewest fouls in the LSC with 14.6 per game, which is the 31st-fewest among NCAA Division II programs.

The Stang Gang is sixth in the conference with 37.2 rebounds per game, and second in the league with 26.7 defensive rebounds per game.
 

UT Permian Basin

UT Permian Basin leads the all-time series with Midwestern State, 11-9, but the Mustangs won the last meeting at UTPB Gym Complex in overtime, 80-74.

The Mustangs overcame a 20-point deficit as Sanders scored a season-high 32 points, and he sent the game into overtime with a drive to the basket in the final three seconds. Midwestern State never led in regulation but outscored the Falcons in the overtime period, 6-0.

UTPB is 6-2 all-time at D.L. Ligon Coliseum after scoring a 62-57 victory last year to complete a sweep of the season series. Alex Matthews led the Falcons with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Shepherd was 5-of-8 from long range and led the Mustangs with 19 points, and LaStrap scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting in defeat.

UT Permian Basin is 15-8 this season with an 11-6 conference record and has lost the first two games of its four-game road trip, falling to 6-4 as the visitor this season. The Falcons have dropped their last three games away from UTPB Gym Complex.

Freddie Word had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, but it wasn't enough to beat Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon. The Greyhounds shot better than 57 percent from the filed and scored 20 fast-break points in an 83-80 victory at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena in Portales, New Mexico.

Matthews is the leading scorer for the Falcons with 16.4 points per game, but he is just one of five players that score in double figures for UTPB.

Dario Domingos, who scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the first meeting with the Mustangs, is the second-leading scorer for the Falcons with 13.7 points per game. Domingos is shooting 59.7 percent from the field, which is the second-best field goal percentage in the conference.

DJ Armstrong hit 6-of-13 shots from 3-point range and scored 21 points against the Mustangs last month, and he is the third-leading scorer for UTPB with 13 points per game.

Word scores 11.9 points per game, and Maison Adeleye pitches in 11.8 points per game for the Falcons, who have the fifth-best field goal percentage in the conference at 46.5.

UTPB scores 76.7 points per game, while its opponents score 72.8 points per game.

Armstrong has taken the most 3-point shots in the conference and is shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc (64-of-138), but the Falcons are 14th in the LSC with 5.9 3-pointers per game and shoot 32.9 percent long range, which is 10th in the league.

The Falcons are the eighth-best rebounding team in the LSC with 34.7 rebounds per game, and they pull down the fifth-most offensive rebounds in the conference with 11.9 per contest.

Matthews is the fifth-leading rebounder in the LSC and leads the Falcons with 6.9 boards per game. Domingos leads the team with three offensive rebounds per contest, which is third in the league.

Matthews shoots 81.1 percent from the foul line (103-of-127), which is fourth-best in the conference, but he has the most made free throws in the LSC with the third-most attempts.

Armstrong, Matthews and Word are among the top-six players in the conference in minutes played. Matthews is the conference leader with 37:32 minutes played per game. Matthews has played the second-most minutes in the conference at 35:18 per game. Word is playing 33:21 per game, which is sixth most in the LSC.

Angelo State

Midwestern State leads the all-time series with the Rams, 50-38, but has lost five of the last six meetings, including a 72-68 loss at Junell Center last month.

Angelo State limited MSU to two second-chance points, and the Mustangs did not have a single offensive rebound in the second half. For the game, Angelo State outrebounded MSU, 37-26.

Shemar Smith and Carvell Teasett both scored 20 points, and Sterilng Gaston-Chapman added 18 as the Rams shot 49.1 percent from the field against the Mustangs.

Sanders was the leading scorer for Midwestern State with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while Gibson finished with 15 points. The Mustangs were 16-of-26 from the free throw line in the loss at San Angelo.

Angelo State is 9-34 all-time as the visitor in the series, and the Rams were beaten in double overtime at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last season, 88-79.

Midwestern State is 4-10 in its last 10 meetings with the Rams and all four wins have come at home.

Angelo State enters this week with a 14-9 overall record and 10-7 in the LSC. The Rams, who have won three of their last four games, will visit Lubbock Christian on Thursday night before facing the Mustangs. The Rams are 5-5 on the road this season.

Angelo State scores 69.1 points per game, and its opponents score 66.7 points per game, which is the fourth-best scoring defense in the conference.

Gaston-Chapman is the leading scorer for Angelo State with 12.5 points per game, and Teasett scores 10.1 points per game. Smith, who is shooting 52.6 percent from the field, adds 9.7 points per game.

Gaston-Chapman, a 6-4 senior from Wichita, Kansas, is also the leading rebounder for the Rams with 5.1 boards per game.

Angelo State has the fourth-best field goal percentage defense in the conference, holding opponents to 41.6 percent shooting from the field. The Rams hold the opposition to 30.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc, which is second-best in the LSC and 19th in the nation.

Kaden Evans and Teasett are the most reliable 3-point shooters for the Rams, who shoot 35 percent from beyond the arc as a team. Evans is 54-of-146 (37%) from long range, and Teasett is 52-of-141 (37.2%) from 3-point distance.

The Rams take advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line, shooting 71.9 percent, but they only attempt 17.2 free throws per game, which is fifth-fewest in the LSC.

Angelo State is forcing 12 turnovers a game, led by Kaden Evans, who has the fourth-most steals in the conference with 45 total and 1.96 steals per game.

Midwestern State travels to Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International next week before wrapping up the regular season with a home-and-home set against Lubbock Christian.