HAWKINS, TX---Fresh off a tournament clinching victory over Texas College on Thursday night, the Mustangs were back in action Saturday afternoon against the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs. Holding the Bulldogs to only 19 first half points, the Mustangs took the contest 73-56 moving their record to 16-10 overall and 11-5 in conference.

"The guys came out ready to play and jumped out to a big lead which gave us some confidence early" said Head Coach Cory Hitchcock. "Jarvis made a run in the 2nd half but we buckled down and put a stop to it.  Basketball is a game of runs and we talked about it at the half. We knew they would fight back and they did. I think we got a little comfortable in the 2nd half and got away from what was working for us. They did a great job taking advantage of our mistakes. I'm glad we got back on track though and finished the game strong. What a week though!! We were able to clinch a spot in the conference tournament and seal the deal for 3rd place overall in conference. That's the highest We have finished in school history. More importantly, we were picked to finish last in the conference preseason rankings and we worked our way up to 3. The coaching staff has pushed and challenged them to go above and beyond the norm. The guys have responded to the challenge and all the hard work is paying off for them.  I'm just so happy for these guys because they have earned this."

The Mustangs used stingy defense and a complete team effort on offense to pull away with the victory. Joshua Harris led the way with 17 points in 28 minutes of play. Harris had 6 rebounds and 4 blocks while shooting 6-15 from the field. Akeem Black and Thurbil Bile both were in double-digits to help contribute. Derrick Hall grabbed 10 rebounds and had 9 assists in the victory. 10 different Mustangs saw shots fall into the basket on Saturday as the team shot 50.9% from the field and 14-23 from the FT-line. 

The Mustangs final two contests come against the top 2 teams in the conference as they take on LSU-Shreveport on Thursday and LSU-A on Saturday.