MSU Cruises Into Finals With 82-63 Win Over Rams - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content
Patrick Green

Men's Basketball By Nick Eatman

MSU Cruises Into Finals With 82-63 Win Over Rams

The Midwestern State Mustangs entered Friday’s semifinal matchup with a 10-game winning streak, but at least Angelo State could hang its hat on being the last team to knock off MSU back in late-January.

        But the Rams were no match this time around for the Mustangs, who seized control early on and never looked back. The No. 2 seed Mustangs cruised into the LSC Championship final round with an 82-63 win over Angelo State, the third-seed of the tournament.

        MSU, which has now won 11 straight, including two wins over ASU, advances to its fifth LSC final in six years and seeking its fourth title in that span and seventh overall. The Mustangs (22-6) will face the winner of Texas A&M-Commerce-Tarleton State.  The championship game will be televised live on CSN Houston's secondary channel, CSN Plus, on Saturday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m.

        The Rams fall to 19-8 and will now wait to see if they qualify for next week’s South Central Regional. ASU were eighth in the latest ranking with the top eight teams advancing.

        While facing a hot-shooting Mustang team was tough enough, the Rams had to play most of the second half without star forward Kenny Williams, who battled foul trouble all day before getting ejected with consecutive technical fouls early in the second half. Williams, a first-team All-LSC selection and LSC Newcomer of the Year, still had nine points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. Chantz Chambers and Tommy Woolridge each had 10 points off the bench to lead the Rams.

        MSU had 11 players score, including a team-high 16 points for Xaiver Blackburn. DeJuan Plummer hit three first-half 3-pointers and finished with 13. Monzaigo Williams had an all-around game of 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.  DeVaughn Jones had nine points and six rebounds in 11 minutes.

        The Mustangs trailed early 7-3, but went on a 27-6 run to take a 30-13 lead after Eddie D’Haiti’s jumper. MSU led 38-20 at the half and the Rams trimmed it to 14 in the first three minutes but never got closer. The Mustangs led by as much as 26 before going deep into the bench.

        The Rams were out-rebounded 39-29 and made just one of 10 3-point attempts.


Midwestern State Notes
  • MSU advanced to the LSC Postseason finals Saturday against Tarleton State/A&M-Commerce winner.
  • MSU improved to 22-6 on the season.
  • MSU improved to 25-7 (.781) all time in the LSC Postseason Tournament.
  • MSU improved to 8-3 all time in LSC Postseason Tournament semifinal round games.
  • MSU extended its winning streak to 11 games -- last lost 83-68 on Jan. 22, 2014 at Angelo State.
  • MSU won its third straight LSC Postseason Tournament semifinal round game.
  • MSU improved to 45-24 all time against Angelo State.
  • MSU won second-straight game against the Rams -- last lost 83-68 on Jan. 22, 2014 in San Angelo.
  • MSU improved to 5-2 on neutral floors this season.
  • MSU improved to 73-19 (.793) overall under head coach Nelson Haggerty.
  • MSU improved to 154-38 (.802) since the start of the 2008-09 season
 
Angelo State Notes
  • Angelo State is now 19-9 this season after picking up a 64-59 quarterfinal win over Cameron on Thursday and falling to Midwestern State in Friday’s semifinal.
  • The Rams are now 16-24 all-time in 27 appearances in the Lone Star Conference Basketball Championships. ASU is now 1-1 all-time against Midwestern State in the tournament and trail the all-time series 45-23.
  • Angelo State was ranked No. 8 in the Division II South Central this week and will learn its postseason fate on Sunday during the NCAA selection show. ASU has not advanced to a regional tournament since the 2008-09 season.
  • ASU was limited to 16 points in the first half which was the fewest points it has scored in a half this season.
  • It was the sixth game this season the Rams lost by double digits.
  • The Rams made a resurgence this season after finishing last season with a 7-19 record last year. ASU had not played in the LSC tournament since 2010 and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since the 2001 season.
  • Kenny Williams, who was named the LSC’s Newcomer of the Year and to its first team, was called for a foul and then accessed two technical fouls for actions deemed inappropriate by the officials. He finished the game with nine points and four rebounds.