Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 26
Murfreesboro, TN
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
18-3, 8-0
72
vs
56
Southern Miss
6-14, 3-5
1
2
F
Southern Miss
23
33
56
Middle Tennessee
37
35
72
Team Stats
USM
MT
FG%
.417
.508
3FG%
.412
.355
FT%
.900
.500
RB
28
29
TO
15
7
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballDixon, Potts lead Raiders past Eagles, 72-56
1/26/2017 9:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Dixon sets career mark with 21 points
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The winning streak hit eight games for Middle Tennessee Thursday with a 72-56 win over the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.
The Blue Raiders (18-3, 8-0), Conference USA's lone unbeaten team, continued their dominance over USM (6-14, 3-5). They now own a 6-1 record all-time against the Golden Eagles and have won five in a row.
"I say it all the time that every league game has a life of its own, it's almost like a season in itself because you have to win games in so many different ways," MT head coach Kermit Davis said. "I thought they had a really good plan. I was proud of our team and excited about the win. It's a good win for the Raiders."
On a night where leading scorer JaCorey Williams had just four points on two-of-five shooting and Southern Miss made a concerted effort to bottle up the paint, quality guard play was of upmost importance for the Blue Raiders, and they got it.
Middle Tennessee's guards combined for 56 points in the win, led by freshman Tyrik Dixon with a new career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Junior Giddy Potts added 19 on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, and he also had eight rebounds.
With the paint crowded, the Raiders were able to find room from distance, setting season highs with 11 3-pointers made and 31 attempted.
"Coming into the game we knew they would ice the ball screens and stuff like that, but we really thought we would be able to throw it in and use our size around the rim," senior Reggie Upshaw said. "When they started doubling JaCorey and myself, it kind of threw us for a loop. We figured out what was going on and made the right plays and made the right passes."
It was a slow start for the Blue Raiders. They hit just seven of their first 20 shots from the field and with 7:30 left in the first half trailed 18-16.
That's when things changed in the blue and white's favor.
Middle Tennessee ended the first half on a 21-5 run to take a 37-23 lead into halftime, and it was all Blue Raiders from there.
"What we did is we started to create some turnovers," Davis said. "I thought the way we ended the first half was really good. Sometimes you see in football or basketball you have to kind of settle in to the style of play that night. We had to kind of settle in."
A large part of the Raiders' run was due to their defense against Conference USA's worst offense.
Southern Miss, which averages a conference-worst 61.9 points per game, shot just 42 percent and had issues controlling the ball, turning it over 15 times. Eight of those came via MT steals.
"We just created energy," Upshaw said. "We started to be more aggressive, forced them to take tough contested shots around the rim and got out on the break."
On the other side, Middle Tennessee's ability to hold onto the ball in order to get a quality possession every time down the floor kept the game tight when it struggled to shoot the ball early on.
The Raiders, who are Conference USA's best and ranked 10th in the country averaging just 10.6 turnovers per game, gave the ball away only seven times.
"I thought that was the key," Davis said. "Points off turnovers were 22-4 [in favor of MT]. They do a good job of getting back, they don't give you a lot of easy baskets off missed shots and they did a good job of blocking out. So those points off turnovers were huge."
Other Blue Raiders in the scoring column included Upshaw with 12, senior Xavier Habersham with nine, sophomore Antwain Johnson with five and senior Aldonis Foote with two.
Middle Tennessee is next in action Saturday, when LA Tech travels to the Murphy Center for a 5 p.m. tipoff. The game can be viewed on ESPN3.
The Blue Raiders (18-3, 8-0), Conference USA's lone unbeaten team, continued their dominance over USM (6-14, 3-5). They now own a 6-1 record all-time against the Golden Eagles and have won five in a row.
"I say it all the time that every league game has a life of its own, it's almost like a season in itself because you have to win games in so many different ways," MT head coach Kermit Davis said. "I thought they had a really good plan. I was proud of our team and excited about the win. It's a good win for the Raiders."
On a night where leading scorer JaCorey Williams had just four points on two-of-five shooting and Southern Miss made a concerted effort to bottle up the paint, quality guard play was of upmost importance for the Blue Raiders, and they got it.
Middle Tennessee's guards combined for 56 points in the win, led by freshman Tyrik Dixon with a new career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Junior Giddy Potts added 19 on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, and he also had eight rebounds.
With the paint crowded, the Raiders were able to find room from distance, setting season highs with 11 3-pointers made and 31 attempted.
"Coming into the game we knew they would ice the ball screens and stuff like that, but we really thought we would be able to throw it in and use our size around the rim," senior Reggie Upshaw said. "When they started doubling JaCorey and myself, it kind of threw us for a loop. We figured out what was going on and made the right plays and made the right passes."
It was a slow start for the Blue Raiders. They hit just seven of their first 20 shots from the field and with 7:30 left in the first half trailed 18-16.
That's when things changed in the blue and white's favor.
Middle Tennessee ended the first half on a 21-5 run to take a 37-23 lead into halftime, and it was all Blue Raiders from there.
"What we did is we started to create some turnovers," Davis said. "I thought the way we ended the first half was really good. Sometimes you see in football or basketball you have to kind of settle in to the style of play that night. We had to kind of settle in."
A large part of the Raiders' run was due to their defense against Conference USA's worst offense.
Southern Miss, which averages a conference-worst 61.9 points per game, shot just 42 percent and had issues controlling the ball, turning it over 15 times. Eight of those came via MT steals.
"We just created energy," Upshaw said. "We started to be more aggressive, forced them to take tough contested shots around the rim and got out on the break."
On the other side, Middle Tennessee's ability to hold onto the ball in order to get a quality possession every time down the floor kept the game tight when it struggled to shoot the ball early on.
The Raiders, who are Conference USA's best and ranked 10th in the country averaging just 10.6 turnovers per game, gave the ball away only seven times.
"I thought that was the key," Davis said. "Points off turnovers were 22-4 [in favor of MT]. They do a good job of getting back, they don't give you a lot of easy baskets off missed shots and they did a good job of blocking out. So those points off turnovers were huge."
Other Blue Raiders in the scoring column included Upshaw with 12, senior Xavier Habersham with nine, sophomore Antwain Johnson with five and senior Aldonis Foote with two.
Middle Tennessee is next in action Saturday, when LA Tech travels to the Murphy Center for a 5 p.m. tipoff. The game can be viewed on ESPN3.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
