Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Sunday, December 21
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
2:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
7-5
65
vs
47
Tennessee State
2-10
1
2
F
Tennessee State
23
24
47
Middle Tennessee
36
29
65
Team Stats
TSUMBB
MT
FG%
.302
.415
3FG%
.182
.286
FT%
.458
.813
RB
38
37
TO
14
13
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballRozier's rampage takes MT past TSU
12/21/2014 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Blue Raiders defeat Tigers 65-47
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee (7-5) raced out to an early 18-0 lead and held on for a 65-47 triumph over Tennessee State Sunday afternoon at Murphy Center. The Blue Raiders have now captured a victory in four of the previous five games and improved to 7-0 when scoring 60 or more points.
Jacquez Rozier led the way with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The senior also added six free throws and grabbed five rebounds. Reggie Upshaw Jr. controlled the glass with a game-high 11 boards and went perfect from the field (3-of-3) and free-throw line (2-2) for eight points.
Upshaw and JaQuel Richmond each tallied four assists as the Blue Raiders contributed a season-high 17 helpers.
It was a tale of two halves as the Blue Raiders torched the net by sinking 11 of their first 13 field-goal attempts, including seven-of-eight from three-point range. MT finished the half at 54.2 percent from the field.
The second period was a much different story as Middle Tennessee survived a late scoring drought and made just one trey on 12 attempts. MT relied on its defense limiting Tennessee State to 30.2 percent shooting.
TSU's poor shooting at the free-throw line (45.8%) also benefitted the Blue Raiders as the home squad went 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the line.
The Tigers trailed by double digits the majority of the contest, but got within nine points with 5:21 remaining. That didn't last long though as the Blue Raiders closed the game on a 12-5 run.
"I thought for the first 12 or 15 minutes we made shots and started playing harder because we made shots," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "Then our ability to make shots tapered off and then we kind of stopped guarding as aggressively."
Rozier made a free throw with 5:44 left in the game, ending MT's scoring drought that began at the 12:03 mark, and went on to score six points down the stretch.
Giddy Potts, Edward Simpson and Darnell Harris opened the game with three consecutive treys as the Blue Raiders held the Tigers scoreless for nearly six minutes at the start.
Potts carried over the momentum from his 16-point output on Friday and drilled three first-half treys to finish with nine points. The freshman guard has made eight three's over the previous three games.
After the initial run, MT continued to pull ahead and built a 21-point advantage when it led 32-11 at the midway point through the first half.
The Blue Raiders eventually cooled off though as Tennessee State used a 7-0 spurt late in the half to trim the deficit. The Tigers held MT scoreless for the final 3:47 of the half and cut the lead to 36-23 at the break.
MT's bench proved to be a factor again by scoring 27 points. The reserves have scored at least 20 points in five straight games.
Middle Tennessee will play again when it hits the road for a matchup at Auburn (5-5) on Monday, Dec. 29. Opening tip is slated for 8 p.m. and the game will be aired on the SEC Network.
Jacquez Rozier led the way with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The senior also added six free throws and grabbed five rebounds. Reggie Upshaw Jr. controlled the glass with a game-high 11 boards and went perfect from the field (3-of-3) and free-throw line (2-2) for eight points.
Upshaw and JaQuel Richmond each tallied four assists as the Blue Raiders contributed a season-high 17 helpers.
It was a tale of two halves as the Blue Raiders torched the net by sinking 11 of their first 13 field-goal attempts, including seven-of-eight from three-point range. MT finished the half at 54.2 percent from the field.
The second period was a much different story as Middle Tennessee survived a late scoring drought and made just one trey on 12 attempts. MT relied on its defense limiting Tennessee State to 30.2 percent shooting.
TSU's poor shooting at the free-throw line (45.8%) also benefitted the Blue Raiders as the home squad went 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the line.
The Tigers trailed by double digits the majority of the contest, but got within nine points with 5:21 remaining. That didn't last long though as the Blue Raiders closed the game on a 12-5 run.
"I thought for the first 12 or 15 minutes we made shots and started playing harder because we made shots," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "Then our ability to make shots tapered off and then we kind of stopped guarding as aggressively."
Rozier made a free throw with 5:44 left in the game, ending MT's scoring drought that began at the 12:03 mark, and went on to score six points down the stretch.
Giddy Potts, Edward Simpson and Darnell Harris opened the game with three consecutive treys as the Blue Raiders held the Tigers scoreless for nearly six minutes at the start.
Potts carried over the momentum from his 16-point output on Friday and drilled three first-half treys to finish with nine points. The freshman guard has made eight three's over the previous three games.
After the initial run, MT continued to pull ahead and built a 21-point advantage when it led 32-11 at the midway point through the first half.
The Blue Raiders eventually cooled off though as Tennessee State used a 7-0 spurt late in the half to trim the deficit. The Tigers held MT scoreless for the final 3:47 of the half and cut the lead to 36-23 at the break.
MT's bench proved to be a factor again by scoring 27 points. The reserves have scored at least 20 points in five straight games.
Middle Tennessee will play again when it hits the road for a matchup at Auburn (5-5) on Monday, Dec. 29. Opening tip is slated for 8 p.m. and the game will be aired on the SEC Network.
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