The D.L. Ligon Coliseum harbored the delighted sensation of achievement and prolific effort Saturday night after the Midwestern State basketball team claimed its sixth Lone Star Conference championship with a 79-64 victory over the speedy Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico.

But before the Mustangs accomplish the aforementioned triumph, they had to experience a rite of passage which involved a 60-56 loss to West Texas A&M University Wednesday night.

West Texas A&M University took advantage of the Mustangs’ poor start by getting on the scoreboard earlier and going up to ten points ahead in the first half.

However, the Mustangs were able to get double figures from senior guard Michael Loyd and senior forward David Terrell. Loyd played incredibly and was rewarded with 18 points alongside three rebounds while Terrell forced in 13 points and made four rebounds.

Lionel Foster’s encouragement for the Buffs was in the form of 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. Following Foster was Kennon Washington with 13 points, seven rebounds and an assist.

The Mustangs also saw an outstanding eight-point contribution from Keonte’ Logan, who took the liberty of enhancing his scoring against West Texas with double three pointers. JaMichael Rivers was able to slot in eight points as well as four rebounds in attempt to secure a positive score line for MSU.

MSU then regrouped and improved its attacking thrust hence defeating Eastern New Mexico to claim the LSC title as well as the no. 1 seed in the league.

Loyd was the architect of the Mustangs’ stampede over the Greyhound and got credit for 16 points while Rivers contributed 15 points his side’s overall tally.

Anthony Harris followed the top scorers by sending home nine points, leaving Terrell to round up the Mustang’s exclusive scoring with seven points.

Rivers, who stated poorly, saw his eventual barrage of points as a routine.

“I started out at a slow pace then I was able to make correct shots,” he said. “I was just doing what it took to make my team win.”

For the Greyhounds, Greg McFarland made a total of 13 points coupled with seven rebounds while Dylan Houlihan and Reggie Nelson registered ten points apiece. However, their hard work was undone by the Mustangs after the break.

The Mustangs’ tenacity in the second half earned them a domineering scoring system, leading them up to a 19-point advantage. Senior guard Melvin Clark’s appearance at the end of the second period rewarded the hosts with five quick points before Chris Buttermore went for a slam dunk to conclude MSU’s scoring.

According to Rivers, the Mustangs are playing exceptionally well but still have a goal to achieve.

“We’re doing good so far but we still haven’t accomplished what we wanted to,” he said. “We want to win the State Championship so we’re taking it one day at a time.”

Darrick Thomas and Thomas Colbert emerged with six points apiece while DeJuan Plummer mustered in five points to make the victory quite evident. Thomas and Terrell led the contest defensively with eight rebounds each.

Loyd perceived Saturday night’s victory as a huge achievement and expressed confidence in the Mustangs’ future.

“That’s what we want to do, win championships,” he said. “That’s just a start, we have a couple more to win.”

After a season worth taking about, MSU will have to concentrate on the LSC Postseason Tournament at the Allen Event Center.

“We had a great start to the season and a nice end as well,” added Loyd. “If we continue with that kind of play, we would be in great shape.”

The Mustangs will face Texas A&M University Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m.