DALLAS – No. 4-seed Midwestern State reached the semifinals of the South Central Regional Tournament with a 102-72 victory over St. Edward's and faces top-seeded Dallas Baptist at Burg Center on Sunday night. A berth in the regional final is at stake and tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Mustangs set a school record with 23 3-pointers as seven different players hit shots from beyond the arc. Midwestern State shot 54 percent from the field overall and 52 percent from 3-point range.
Mason Gibson led the team with 21 points and five 3-pointers. Will Shepherd hit his first four shots from long distance and finished 4-of-6 from 3-point range on his way to a 14-point performance, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mustangs.
Midwestern State had five players score in double figures and outrebounded the Hilltoppers, 37-28. Matija Svetozarevic and Jonathan Jackson also hit four 3-pointers. Jordan Reed came off the bench and hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Gibson is the leading scorer for the Mustangs this season with 16.7 points per game, and he is the seventh-leading scorer in the LSC. Reggie Hill is pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game and is the fourth-leading rebounder in the LSC.
Dallas Baptist advanced with a 74-54 win over Regis as Cameron Kahn scored 19 points, and Jackson McCabe pulled down seven rebounds for the fourth-ranked Patriots, who scored 18 points off 25 turnovers. Dallas Baptist had 15 steals and four blocked shots in the victory.
Lujan is the leading scorer for the Patriots this season with 17.9 points per game, and he is the third leading scorer in the Lone Star Conference. Xavion Brown is the leading rebounder for Dallas Baptist with 5.8 boards per game.
Midwestern State leads the all-time series with Dallas Baptist, 29-27, but the Patriots have won 11 of the 14 meetings, including the last three encounters.
Dallas Baptist defeated the Mustangs earlier this season, 77-75, at Burg Center as Ricky Lujan scored 20 points for the Patriots, who went on a 15-0 run midway through the first half.
Gibson poured in 31 points for the Mustangs in the loss on Dec. 4, but the Mustangs fell to 9-19 when visiting the Patriots.
Midwestern State has lost its last two regular season visits to Burg Center by a total of four points.
In their only previous postseason meeting with Patriots, MSU prevailed, 82-66, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament, 82-66. Pierre Sanders scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists in the victory. Lujan scored points and had seven assists for Dallas Baptist.
Dallas Baptist is the second-highest scoring team in the LSC with 85.2 points per game and is allowing its opponents to score 71.7 points per game.
The Mustangs boast one of the best defenses in the LSC and the nation, holding opponents to 65.9 points per game, which leads the conference and is 17th in the nation.
Opponents are only shooting 39.8 percent against Midwestern State and just 29.9 percent from 3-point range. The Mustangs are ninth-best in the nation in both categories.
Midwestern State is scoring 75.7 points per game and is coming off its highest-ever point total in a postseason game.
The winner of Sunday's game faces either St. Mary's or Colorado School of Mines in the South Central Regional final on Tuesday night at Burg Center.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
