LSC BASKETBALL
The Lone Star Conference season continues to be spirited, with the Midwestern State men and Tarleton State women both falling for the first time in league play last week. On the men’s side, MSU and Incarnate Word both have one LSC loss. Tarleton tops the women’s standings at 6-1 but MSU, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word are right behind them with two conference losses each.
Over the weekend, two Lone Star Conference men’s basketball dunks were featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. The No. 2 highlight was Incarnate Word’s Lyn’Dale Brown (
http://youtu.be/X6ERMPXt5lE), while No. 9 showed Midwestern State’s Corbin Thomas (
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=705452036880).
The LSC men have a 81-60 overall record so far this season. In the NCAA South Central Region, the men’s teams are currently 14-15 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 3-1 opposed to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The LSC women are 73-77 overall. The women’s squads are currently 15-11 combined versus Heartland teams, and 5-1 against the RMAC, which are the other conferences in the NCAA South Central Region.
The LSC champion will be the regular season winner determined by conference games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC Tournament Champion and earns the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championship. The top eight teams in the final conference standings qualify for the postseason tournament set for March 6-9 in Allen, Texas.
NCAA BASKETBALL STATISTICS (through games 01/10)
Men: West Texas A&M is second in the nation in scoring defense (54.9).
Men: Texas A&M-Kingsville is fourth in field-goal percentage defense (37.0).
Men: WT’s Donald Sims is second in field-goal percentage (69.7).
Women: Tarleton State is first in field-goal percentage (49.1).
Women: Abilene Christian is third in three-point field-goal percentage defense (22.4).
Women: Tarleton’s Kiara Wright is second in field-goal percentage (64.7) and fifth in rebounds per game (12.0).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Rashad Basey, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, JR, Guard, Louisville, Ky., Jefferstown HS
Basey scored a career-best 30 points in the win over Eastern New Mexico on 12-of-21 shooting. He was the first Javelina to score 30 points since November of 2011. On Saturday, he led all scorers in a defensive battle versus West Texas A&M with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and was 5-of-6 from the foul line. He had five assists in the game including helpers on the game-tying and game-winning buckets in the extra period.
MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Corbin Thomas, Midwestern State University, SR, Forward, Chicago, Ill., Seton Academy
Thomas’ play in the paint contributed to one of the best defensive performances in Midwestern State history Saturday night against Tarleton State. The senior transfer from Missouri State outscored the Texans’ starters on his own with 16 points while pulling down eight rebounds and swatting three shots. Tarleton’s starting five managed just 11 points as the Texans matched the lowest scoring output in school history in the 50-34 loss. Thomas’ play was critical in MSU’s historic night as the Mustangs set a school record of their own holding TSU to a 16.9-percent shooting night (10-for-59). Thomas also notched his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds in a 74-66 loss Wednesday night at Texas A&M-Commerce. For the week, Thomas averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five blocked shots and a steal.
WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Kirsti Degelia, Midwestern State University, JR, Guard, Denton, Texas, Krum HS
Degelia led the Mustangs in a pair of wins, including Midwestern’s 78-71 overtime triumph over Tarleton State that handed the TexAnns their first Lone Star Conference loss of the season. Degelia, the leading scorer in the LSC with 16.6 points a game, scored a career-high 27 to go with six assists in leading MSU past Tarleton for the first time in 14 games or since Jan. 5, 2005. She buried a 30-foot trey at the first half buzzer that gave MSU a halftime lead against the TexAnns. For the week the 5-8 junior from Denton, Texas/Krum averaged 18.0 points with 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals. She shot 40.0 percent from the floor (10-of-25), 50.0 percent from the 3-point arc (3-of-6) and 76.5 percent from the foul line (13-of-17) as MSU pulled within a half game of the LSC lead.
WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Ashlyn Green, University of the Incarnate Word, SR, Guard, Irving, Texas, Irving HS
Green was the leader of a stout Incarnate Word defensive effort last week. The Cardinals allowed just 44.5 points per game in their two victories over West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. With the team trailing WT in the final 30 seconds, Green hit a jumper in the lane with 25 seconds left to make it 51-50 UIW and then she blocked a potential game-winning three-point attempt with seven seconds left to help secure the win. She came back with 11 points and a team high seven rebounds while helping to limit ENMU to 30.8 percent shooting in a 64-39 win. She averaged 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game for the week.