New coach and new players - but same result for the Midwestern State Mustangs, who claimed their second straight LSC Championship Saturday after a 65-55 win over Tarleton State at Bruin Fieldhouse. The Mustangs built a comfortable lead just before halftime and even pushed it out to 20 before the Texans hung tough and closed the gap to six, but simply ran out of time. The win not only gives MSU (28-2) its third tournament title in four years, becoming the first team since (UCO) to accomplish that feat since 1998, but also gives Midwestern a chance to move into the No. 1 spot in the South Central Regional, allowing them to host next week's regional in Wichita Falls. First-year head coach Grant McCasland cut down the final string of the nets, prompting a huge roar from the Midwestern State faithful, just minutes after the final buzzer. Although MSU junior Charlie Logan (6'7''-F) carried the Mustangs Saturday night, tying his career-high with 19 points and 15 rebounds, along with several clutch free throws down the stretch, he was not among the three Midwestern players on the all-tournament team. Despite scoring just three points in the final, senior guard Jason Ebie (6'1''-G-87) was named tournament MVP as the glue to the offense. Ebie also hit two clutch 3-pointers to save MSU in the semifinal round to beat Northeastern State Friday night. Guards Anthony Moore (6'3''-G-78) and Craig Green (6'2''-G-86) also made the all-tournament team, along with Tarleton State guards Corin Henry (5'11''-G-88) and Effran Bryant (5'6''-G-88) and Northeastern State center Jason Jones (6'8''-C-86). The Mustangs led 55-35 with 7:27 to play, but Tarleton kept battling and when Texan forward Jeremiah Wilson (6'8''-F-88) hit two free throws with 48 seconds to play, the lead was down to six. But Chris Hagan (5'9''-G-89) and Logan both hit a pair of foul shots to seal the win. MSU senior forward Michael Godwin (6'8''-F-87) scored five points and four rebounds off the bench, but claimed his third conference championship of his four-year career. For the Texans, four players finished the game in double figures, led by Jeremiah Wilson and Devon Hills (6'4''-G-86) each scoring 13 points. Bryant nine of his 10 points in the second half and Henry added 12 points. Since joining the Lone Star Conference in 1998, Midwestern now has five LSC tournament titles. Tarleton was looking for its first conference title since 2004 and falls to 1-5 in championship games. Courtesy of LSC LSC Tournament Final: Midwestern State - Tarleton State 65-55 LSC Tournament Semifinals: Tarleton State - West Texas A&M 82-68 Midwestern State - Northeastern State 74-64 LSC All-Tournament MVP: Jason Ebie of Midwestern State LSC All-Tournament Team Jason Ebie of Midwestern State Anthony Moore of Midwestern State Craig Green of Midwestern State Corin Henry of Tarleton State Effran Bryant of Tarleton State Jason Jones of Northeastern State
All-LSC 1st Team Lamarshall Corbett (6'3''-G-88) of Angelo State Craig Green of Midwestern State Jason Ebie of Midwestern State Devon Hills of Tarleton State Stavon Williams (6'4''-G-88) of Angelo State All-LSC 2nd Team Chris Hagan of Midwestern State Effran Bryant of Tarleton State Nick Burns (6'1''-G-87) of West Texas A&M Bijan Dotson (6'7''-F) of West Texas A&M Johnny Barnes (6'6''-F-88) of Angelo State All-LSC Honorable Mention Eddie Thompson (6'3''-G/F-89) of Abilene Christian Reginald Nelson (6'0''-G) of Eastern New Mexico Tyler Jefferson (6'6''-F) of Eastern New Mexico Equs Darby (6'5''-F) of Eastern New Mexico Jeremiah Wilson of Tarleton State Corin Henry of Tarleton State Naquawn Lee (6'1''-G) of Texas A&M-Kingsville Ladarius Hall (6'2''-G) of West Texas A&M Joe Mincey (6'3''-G) of West Texas A&M All-LSC Player of the Year: Lamarshall Corbett of Angelo State All-LSC Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Ebie of Midwestern State All-LSC Freshman of the Year: Dosh Simms (6'5''-F-90) of Abilene Christian All-LSC Newcomer of the Year: Lamarshall Corbett of Angelo State All-LSC Coach of the Year: Grant McCasland of Midwestern State | |||||||||||||||||||||
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