KINGSVILLE, Texas -- Junior guard Mason Gibson poured in an efficient 25 points and Midwestern State held off Texas A&M-Kingsville 76-73 for its sixth-straight win Thursday night at Stenke Center.

With the win, the Mustangs improved to 20-5 on the season and 15-4 in Lone Star Conference play.

It is MSU's first 20-win season since the Mustangs went 24-6 in 2015-16. And it is the first time the Mustangs won six consecutive LSC games since reeling off nine straight to close the 2013-14 campaign.

MSU's win combined with losses Dallas Baptist and St. Mary's on Thursday means the top four teams are all within one loss in the standings.

DBU tops the table at 17-3 followed by Lubbock Christian at 16-3, while MSU and St. Mary's are knotted for third at 15-4.

But things didn't look good for the Mustangs early in the second half.

The Hoggies rattled off 10 consecutive points and led 44-39 when Isaiah Payne rattled in a 3-pointer with 15:29 to play.

Texas A&M-Kingsville pushed the advantage to six points after Zyon Little 3-pointer gave it a 53-47 advantage with 11:13 to play.

But the Mustangs responded with a 16-3 run over a 6-minute stretch beginning with a triple by Pierre Sanders with 8:45 to play until Will Shepherd canned a pair of free throws to give MSU a 68-58 lead with 2:50 to play.

Texas A&M-Kingsville batted back to within a single point when Bryson Goldsmith banked in a 3-pointer from 22 feet with four seconds to play.

Gibson connected on a pair of free throws to finally but the game away for the Mustangs.

Gibson needed just six field-goal attempts to book 25 points. The Allen High School product buried four 3-pointers and hit 13 of his 15 free throws to lead the Mustangs.

Sanders chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Shepherd added 10 points and five rebounds.

As a team, the Mustangs hit 12-of-29 from the arc and were 22-of-26 from charity stripe.

"We didn't come out clean and executing," MSU coach Justin Leslie said. "Forty-one percent from 3 and 85 percent at the free throw line will cover up a lot of mistakes."
Little paced the Javelinas with 17 points before fouling in 17 minutes, while Payne connected on four triples on his way to 16 points.

Texas A&M-Kingsville dropped to 11-15 on the season and moved to 7-13 in league play.

Midwestern State takes on Texas A&M International Saturday afternoon at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
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