The senior from Pontiac, Mich. didn't miss a shot until after halftime finishing the night 13-for-15 from the field and 8-of-9 from the arc. Harris polished off the game with his second consecutive double-double with 10 rebounds.
His heroics were enough to bring MSU back to the brink of claiming its first win of the season as the Mustangs trimmed a 13-point, second-half deficit to a single bucket when Darius Thompson converted a steal into a layup to pull Midwestern to within 69-67 with 1:43 to go.
Thompson, once again, was strong in the second half scoring nine of his 15 points in the final 2:17. The Memphis, Tenn. native also distributed a team-high six assists.
But the Mustangs misfired on three free throws in the final minute allowing Central Oklahoma to secure a win in its home opener.
Dashawn McDowell scored 20 points to lead Central Oklahoma which shot 59.3 percent from the field and was 12-of-27 from 3-point range (44.4 percent).
Harris used his historic scoring night to raise his season scoring average to 18.8 points per game. The 36 points are the most since Chris Hagan scored the same number of points agianst Angelo State on Feb. 23, 2011 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. It was the same season which Hagan set a school record with 50 points at Cameron.
Sophomore forward Jalin Brown scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and swatted three shots, while sophomore Trae Jones connected on two 3-pointers to finish with six points and four assists.
Midwestern State dropped to 0-5 for the first itme since the 1988-89 season, while Central Oklahoma improved to 2-4.
The Mustangs compete in the MIAA Thanksgiving Challenge against Central Missouri Tuesday night at Municipal Arena in Kansas City. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.