Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 10
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
-97, 21 CUSA
82
vs
58
Florida Atlantic
-77, 03 CUSA
1
2
F
FAU
34
24
58
Middle Tennessee
42
40
82
Team Stats
FAU
MT
FG%
.432
.450
3FG%
.438
.235
FT%
.867
.923
RB
19
39
TO
16
10
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballHarris helps MT to big win over FAU
1/10/2015 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Blue Raiders defeat Owls 82-58
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee won its second straight conference game in convincing fashion Saturday night, topping Florida Atlantic 82-58 at the Murphy Center.
The Blue Raiders led wire-to-wire and went up as much as 30 in the second half. A Darnell Harris three-pointer at the 15:03 mark ignited a 17-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Harris poured in a career-high 24 points and became the first Blue Raider to eclipse 20 in a game this season. The junior shot 75 percent from the field (9-of-12) and grabbed six rebounds while leading the offensive attack.
"We're proud of Darnell, we could just see his improvement over the last couple weeks," said head coach Kermit Davis.
Middle Tennessee (9-7, 2-1 C-USA) put up 80 points for the first time in 23 games dating back to last season, while the victory became the third occasion that saw four Raiders reach double figures in the scoring column. Perrin Buford, Reggie Upshaw and Marcus Tarrance each recorded 12 points.
Rebounding became the major factor, as Middle Tennessee dominated FAU 39-19 on the glass. The visitors entered the matchup averaging over nine offensive boards a game, but MT shut the Owls out and outscored them 21-0 on second-chance opportunities.
The Blue Raiders remain unbeaten when scoring at least 60 points (9-0) after tallying the two highest scoring halves this season.
Middle Tennessee built a nine-point lead and led FAU 22-13 halfway through the first period. The Blue Raiders made seven of their first 14 attempts from the field, as Harris recorded eight points through the opening 10 minutes.
Harris finished with 12 first-half points and MT entered the break with a 42-34 advantage. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the half and FAU did most of its damage from beyond the arc with four 3-pointers. However, MT took advantage of free opportunities by going 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Overall, the Blue Raiders finished with the team's highest free-throw percentage ever in a C-USA contest after going an impressive 92 percent (24-of-26) from the line.
Solomon Poole scored 17 points to lead the Owls (7-7, 0-3 C-USA).
"We're back in the mix," added Davis. "That's all you want to do after a big weekend for everybody in our league."
Middle Tennessee will play its conference road opener at Southern Miss next Thursday, Jan. 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The Blue Raiders led wire-to-wire and went up as much as 30 in the second half. A Darnell Harris three-pointer at the 15:03 mark ignited a 17-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Harris poured in a career-high 24 points and became the first Blue Raider to eclipse 20 in a game this season. The junior shot 75 percent from the field (9-of-12) and grabbed six rebounds while leading the offensive attack.
"We're proud of Darnell, we could just see his improvement over the last couple weeks," said head coach Kermit Davis.
Middle Tennessee (9-7, 2-1 C-USA) put up 80 points for the first time in 23 games dating back to last season, while the victory became the third occasion that saw four Raiders reach double figures in the scoring column. Perrin Buford, Reggie Upshaw and Marcus Tarrance each recorded 12 points.
Rebounding became the major factor, as Middle Tennessee dominated FAU 39-19 on the glass. The visitors entered the matchup averaging over nine offensive boards a game, but MT shut the Owls out and outscored them 21-0 on second-chance opportunities.
The Blue Raiders remain unbeaten when scoring at least 60 points (9-0) after tallying the two highest scoring halves this season.
Middle Tennessee built a nine-point lead and led FAU 22-13 halfway through the first period. The Blue Raiders made seven of their first 14 attempts from the field, as Harris recorded eight points through the opening 10 minutes.
Harris finished with 12 first-half points and MT entered the break with a 42-34 advantage. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the half and FAU did most of its damage from beyond the arc with four 3-pointers. However, MT took advantage of free opportunities by going 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Overall, the Blue Raiders finished with the team's highest free-throw percentage ever in a C-USA contest after going an impressive 92 percent (24-of-26) from the line.
Solomon Poole scored 17 points to lead the Owls (7-7, 0-3 C-USA).
"We're back in the mix," added Davis. "That's all you want to do after a big weekend for everybody in our league."
Middle Tennessee will play its conference road opener at Southern Miss next Thursday, Jan. 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
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