Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, December 22
Honolulu, HI
4:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
8-2
69
vs
67
Princeton
5-7
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
23
46
69
Princeton
28
39
67
Team Stats
MT
PRIN
FG%
.407
.440
3FG%
.350
.360
FT%
.778
.609
RB
34
33
TO
8
11
STL
2
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Hawaii Media Source
Raiders earn 69-67 victory on Potts' game winner
12/22/2017 7:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Potts breaks school record for 3-pointers made in win
HONOLULU, Hawaii – A halfcourt heave as the buzzer sounded in Friday's Diamond Head Classic opener came up empty to leave Middle Tennessee victorious over a streaking Princeton team, 69-67.
It was a step-back jumper by senior guard Giddy Potts with 2.3 seconds left that proved to be the game winner for the Blue Raiders (8-2) as they escaped a hard-fought contest against a fellow 2017 NCAA Tournament participant to move into the winners bracket in Honolulu.
"Princeton is coming off of a great year last year making the NCAA Tournament and we knew they would be a tough team to beat," head coach Kermit Davis said. "We had to juggle foul trouble today but our bench did a good job and it feels good to start off the tournament with another great win."
A sluggish first half offensively found the Blue Raiders down by five going into the break despite nine points and four rebounds from senior Giddy Potts.
Middle Tennessee was in a hole early, trailing 8-4 after hitting just two of its first 11 attempts from the field in the first six and a half minutes. The Raiders then hit three of their next four to draw even with the Tigers at 10, but a quick 7-0 response from Princeton put MT in its largest deficit of the first half.
A Potts 3-pointer ended the Princeton run and wouldn't be his last of the half. The Athens, Ala., native entered the contest with 219 career 2-pointers and his third triple of the first half not only drew the Blue Raiders even with the Tigers at 21 but also drew Potts even with Robert Taylor with a program-best 222 trifectas.
Despite the early output from Potts, Middle Tennessee shot just 29.4 percent (10-of-34) from the field without attempting a single free throw in the first 20 minutes to contribute to the five-point deficit.
It took just 11 seconds for the Blue Raiders to get going in the second half as Potts' school record 223rd 3-pointer ignited an 11-2 run the put MT up 34-30 on the Tigers.
"It's an honor to have my name at the top of the list of some of the best 3-point shooters ever at Middle Tennessee history," Potts added. "But we came here for one reason and that's to win three games."
MT and Princeton then traded the lead four times over the next several minutes before an Edward Simpson triple from the wing gave the Raiders the lead for a stretch of over three minutes before a desperation three put Princeton back up 53-52 at the 5:44 mark.
Nick King gave MT the lead right back with an easy lay-in to bring his point total to 18 and neither team would stretch out a lead of more than three points for the remainder of the contest.
As the game entered its final minutes, a Tyrik Dixon appeared to give the Blue Raiders the momentum they would need to see out the win, but the seasoned Princeton team wouldn't go away.
The Tigers took one more lead at 63-62 on a 3-pointer but a 5-1 run put MT up three with just 24 seconds left.
The rollercoaster ending wasn't over just yet, however, as Princeton's Sebastian Much drilled another triple to tie the score at 67 and give Middle Tennessee 18 seconds to earn the late win, and earn the win they did with Potts' step-back winner.
"That was actually the first game winner I've hit in my life," Potts said. "It just felt really good to get the win for my teammates."
Potts finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc. King added a game-high 18 points and Dixon totaled 10 while the trio led MT in rebounding with five boards each.
Middle Tennessee will now await the winner of Friday's contest between Akron and USC in a 3:30 p.m. CT game on Saturday.
It was a step-back jumper by senior guard Giddy Potts with 2.3 seconds left that proved to be the game winner for the Blue Raiders (8-2) as they escaped a hard-fought contest against a fellow 2017 NCAA Tournament participant to move into the winners bracket in Honolulu.
"Princeton is coming off of a great year last year making the NCAA Tournament and we knew they would be a tough team to beat," head coach Kermit Davis said. "We had to juggle foul trouble today but our bench did a good job and it feels good to start off the tournament with another great win."
A sluggish first half offensively found the Blue Raiders down by five going into the break despite nine points and four rebounds from senior Giddy Potts.
Middle Tennessee was in a hole early, trailing 8-4 after hitting just two of its first 11 attempts from the field in the first six and a half minutes. The Raiders then hit three of their next four to draw even with the Tigers at 10, but a quick 7-0 response from Princeton put MT in its largest deficit of the first half.
A Potts 3-pointer ended the Princeton run and wouldn't be his last of the half. The Athens, Ala., native entered the contest with 219 career 2-pointers and his third triple of the first half not only drew the Blue Raiders even with the Tigers at 21 but also drew Potts even with Robert Taylor with a program-best 222 trifectas.
Despite the early output from Potts, Middle Tennessee shot just 29.4 percent (10-of-34) from the field without attempting a single free throw in the first 20 minutes to contribute to the five-point deficit.
It took just 11 seconds for the Blue Raiders to get going in the second half as Potts' school record 223rd 3-pointer ignited an 11-2 run the put MT up 34-30 on the Tigers.
"It's an honor to have my name at the top of the list of some of the best 3-point shooters ever at Middle Tennessee history," Potts added. "But we came here for one reason and that's to win three games."
MT and Princeton then traded the lead four times over the next several minutes before an Edward Simpson triple from the wing gave the Raiders the lead for a stretch of over three minutes before a desperation three put Princeton back up 53-52 at the 5:44 mark.
Nick King gave MT the lead right back with an easy lay-in to bring his point total to 18 and neither team would stretch out a lead of more than three points for the remainder of the contest.
As the game entered its final minutes, a Tyrik Dixon appeared to give the Blue Raiders the momentum they would need to see out the win, but the seasoned Princeton team wouldn't go away.
The Tigers took one more lead at 63-62 on a 3-pointer but a 5-1 run put MT up three with just 24 seconds left.
The rollercoaster ending wasn't over just yet, however, as Princeton's Sebastian Much drilled another triple to tie the score at 67 and give Middle Tennessee 18 seconds to earn the late win, and earn the win they did with Potts' step-back winner.
"That was actually the first game winner I've hit in my life," Potts said. "It just felt really good to get the win for my teammates."
Potts finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc. King added a game-high 18 points and Dixon totaled 10 while the trio led MT in rebounding with five boards each.
Middle Tennessee will now await the winner of Friday's contest between Akron and USC in a 3:30 p.m. CT game on Saturday.
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
