The University of the Southwest Men's basketball team travels to Stephenville TX., to take on NCAA opponents Angelo State, and Tartleton State on Friday and Saturday (2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT & 7p.m./6p.m) respectively.

The Mustangs (1-3) are coming off a strong offensive performance against USAO (1-1) who is receiving votes in the latest Top 25 poll on Monday November 5th, a 102-93 loss on the road in which the Mustangs shot 52% from the field.  Sophomore Josh Harris (7-10 FGs) and Ron'Quis Lewis (7-12 FGs) led the Mustangs in scoring with 18 and 24 points respectively, while Emmanuel McNeil and Demond Parker scored 17 and 15 respectively.

The Mustangs continue to start slow at the beginning of games, and then gradually find a rhythm as the game progresses. The Mustangs tied the game 3 times in the first half after falling behind as many 6, but then a turnover and a made 3 FG with 3:33 left in the first half started a 10-3 run as the Mustangs went into halftime trailing 54-41.  The Mustangs shot 46% for the half, and allowed USAO to shoot 62%.

USAO continued its hot shooting in the 2nd half and lead as many as 17 points before the Mustangs started chipping away at the lead with 7:55 remaining.  The Mustangs were poised to cut the lead to 9 points with 1:11 to play but a key turnover, kept the Mustangs from closing the gap to single digits until a late shot in the game with :08 seconds left remaining, and thereby having the game end with a 102-93 score.

The Mustangs outscored USAO in the 2nd half 52-48 and shot 56% however USAO forced the Mustangs into 16 turnovers and scored 13 point off turnovers while USAO shot 51% in the 2nd half.

"I was very pleased at how we came out to play on the road against a nationally ranked team, and our offense finally seemed to be clicking. If we can take care of the ball offensively and reduce our turnovers, we will have a chance to score because of our length and athleticism against any team in the nation" said Head Coach Timm Dixon. "We are still a work in progress defensively, and will continue to work on that daily in practice as we get ready to roll into conference play."

LIVE STREAM/LIVE AUDIO

Friday and Saturday's games will be streamed on each schools respective websites. Please visit their website and look under schedule for the appropriate link.

MUSTANGS IN THE TOP 20 FOR TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS

USW is not easing its way into the new campaign as it is currently in the midst of a 9 game road stretch. The nine game road schedule is the longest away game stretch the Mustangs have ever played to start a season. Currently the Mustangs hold five Team Rankings in the Top 20. The Mustangs are ranked 6th in the nation for Total Assists (79), 15th in Total Rebound Offense (151) and 17th in Total Steals (31), Scoring Offense (306), and Assists per game (19.75)  The Mustangs will return for their first home appearance this season on November 19th for a rematch against USAO.

For up to date scores and game dates visit www.uswathletics.comhttp://www.uswathletics.com>