Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, November 16
Murfreesboro, TN
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
2-0
63
vs
69
Belmont
1-1
1
2
F
Belmont
29
40
69
Middle Tennessee
27
36
63
Team Stats
BEL
MT
FG%
.453
.403
3FG%
.455
.294
FT%
.846
.727
RB
36
32
TO
17
12
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballRaiders' rally falls short against Belmont
11/16/2017 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A second-half rally wasn't enough Thursday night, as Middle Tennessee dropped a tough home game to Belmont, 69-63, its first loss of the young season.
It was the first defeat in the last three meetings for the Blue Raiders (2-1), who now lead the all-time series against the Bruins (2-1) 22-16.
"It was just a typical Middle Tennessee-Belmont game," MT head coach Kermit Davis said. "Give Belmont a lot of credit; I thought they out-toughed us at the end."
The Blue Raiders went to halftime trailing 29-27, and after the break the Bruins caught fire from distance. They hit four of their 10 3-pointers in a 19-7 run over a five-minute stretch before Middle Tennessee responded, but respond it did.
After Belmont's run, the Blue and White rattled off a quick 20-2 run over just 4 1/2 minutes of game time, led by seven points from senior Nick King.
King, who scored 31 points in the Blue Raiders' win over Murray State on Monday, finished with a team-high 21 on 9-of-17 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists.
"I don't think it's all about me; my teammates put me in position to score," King said. "I'm not going to change my game. If the defense changes, I'll make good passes to try and get my teammates open."
It was Middle Tennessee's defensive effort that allowed the run.
Belmont turned the ball over five times over MT's run, allowing the Blue Raiders to get into transition and find their shooting stroke. They hit 10-of-12 shots over the span.
In total, Belmont shot 45 percent from the field (24-of-53) and turned the ball over 17 times, nine of which were MT steals.
"I felt like we buckled down on the defensive end and contained the guards off the dribble at that time," King said. "Everything was just flowing."
Middle Tennessee found itself leading 56-52 with eight minutes remaining and it looked like it had stolen all of the momentum. But, the Bruins weren't done.
They responded with a 13-2 run of their own, going up 65-58 with 2:35 remaining and all but sealing the outcome.
"I just thought Belmont made really good plays down the stretch and made some free throws," Davis said. "We just missed some defensive assignments, and you can't make those mistakes. Belmont is so well-coached that they're going to make you pay if you make some defensive mistakes like that."
The game of runs started from the opening tip, as Belmont got off to a fast start, taking a quick 13-4 lead just over four minutes into the game as Middle Tennessee struggled from the field.
The Blue Raiders weathered the storm, though, and when they caught fire the lead evaporated.
With just over nine minutes remaining in the first half, seniors Giddy Potts and Brandon Walters connected on a fast-break alley oop to give MT an 18-17 lead.
Walters led a strong effort from Middle Tennessee's bench, scoring 14 of the team's 26 reserve points and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds with four blocks.
"I'm just trying to be a bigger presence for the team in the paint," Walters said. "With the big men we have, it's hard to get our movement going right now. I'm just trying to be a big presence down in the paint."
Potts finished with 12 points to round out the double-digit Raider scoring. He also had six assists and a pair of steals.
Moving forward, the Blue Raiders will try to get back to their winning ways on Nov. 18 at Tennessee State. Davis said he hopes to see better guard play against the Tigers, who traveled to MT and won 74-63 last season.
"We've got four guards who've played in NCAA Tournament games, and we've got to get better production out of them … or our team is going to struggle," he said. "I've got to do a better job, and we've got to get that corrected."
It was the first defeat in the last three meetings for the Blue Raiders (2-1), who now lead the all-time series against the Bruins (2-1) 22-16.
"It was just a typical Middle Tennessee-Belmont game," MT head coach Kermit Davis said. "Give Belmont a lot of credit; I thought they out-toughed us at the end."
The Blue Raiders went to halftime trailing 29-27, and after the break the Bruins caught fire from distance. They hit four of their 10 3-pointers in a 19-7 run over a five-minute stretch before Middle Tennessee responded, but respond it did.
After Belmont's run, the Blue and White rattled off a quick 20-2 run over just 4 1/2 minutes of game time, led by seven points from senior Nick King.
King, who scored 31 points in the Blue Raiders' win over Murray State on Monday, finished with a team-high 21 on 9-of-17 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists.
"I don't think it's all about me; my teammates put me in position to score," King said. "I'm not going to change my game. If the defense changes, I'll make good passes to try and get my teammates open."
It was Middle Tennessee's defensive effort that allowed the run.
Belmont turned the ball over five times over MT's run, allowing the Blue Raiders to get into transition and find their shooting stroke. They hit 10-of-12 shots over the span.
In total, Belmont shot 45 percent from the field (24-of-53) and turned the ball over 17 times, nine of which were MT steals.
"I felt like we buckled down on the defensive end and contained the guards off the dribble at that time," King said. "Everything was just flowing."
Middle Tennessee found itself leading 56-52 with eight minutes remaining and it looked like it had stolen all of the momentum. But, the Bruins weren't done.
They responded with a 13-2 run of their own, going up 65-58 with 2:35 remaining and all but sealing the outcome.
"I just thought Belmont made really good plays down the stretch and made some free throws," Davis said. "We just missed some defensive assignments, and you can't make those mistakes. Belmont is so well-coached that they're going to make you pay if you make some defensive mistakes like that."
The game of runs started from the opening tip, as Belmont got off to a fast start, taking a quick 13-4 lead just over four minutes into the game as Middle Tennessee struggled from the field.
The Blue Raiders weathered the storm, though, and when they caught fire the lead evaporated.
With just over nine minutes remaining in the first half, seniors Giddy Potts and Brandon Walters connected on a fast-break alley oop to give MT an 18-17 lead.
Walters led a strong effort from Middle Tennessee's bench, scoring 14 of the team's 26 reserve points and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds with four blocks.
"I'm just trying to be a bigger presence for the team in the paint," Walters said. "With the big men we have, it's hard to get our movement going right now. I'm just trying to be a big presence down in the paint."
Potts finished with 12 points to round out the double-digit Raider scoring. He also had six assists and a pair of steals.
Moving forward, the Blue Raiders will try to get back to their winning ways on Nov. 18 at Tennessee State. Davis said he hopes to see better guard play against the Tigers, who traveled to MT and won 74-63 last season.
"We've got four guards who've played in NCAA Tournament games, and we've got to get better production out of them … or our team is going to struggle," he said. "I've got to do a better job, and we've got to get that corrected."
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Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
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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
