Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 2
Murfreesboro, TN
8:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
4-2
56
vs
62
VCU (FSN)
5-2
1
2
F
VCU
30
32
62
Middle Tennessee
28
28
56
Team Stats
VCU
MT
FG%
.317
.357
3FG%
.320
.190
FT%
.667
.667
RB
47
42
TO
13
17
STL
12
5
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballBlue Raiders Narrowly Fall at Home, 62-56
12/2/2015 11:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Darnell Harris Scored a season-high 17 points
By Connor Grott, GBR Beat Writer
MURFREESBORO – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team played a close game throughout, but the upset bid fell just short against VCU, 62-56, on Wednesday night in front of 8,882 fans in the Murphy Center.
MT senior forward Darnell Harris finished with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Harris added three rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
Junior forward Reggie Upshaw posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough down the stretch.
It was a physical, grind-it-out matchup for both squads throughout Wednesday's contest.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders (4-2) held the Rams to 31.7 (20-of-63) percent from the field, while forcing 13 VCU turnovers.
On the offensive side of the ball, MT shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor, including a 19 percent mark (4-of-21) from 3-point range.
"You saw our team, we battled our tails off," Davis said. "We were a tough team tonight. It was like two boxers trying to feel each other out, and then everyone settled in and [VCU] got into that zone and it bothered us. We did some things that hurt them, but give VCU credit."
Harris found cracks in the VCU defense with his scoring output, but said those points were hard to come by at times.
"At first it was kind of difficult," Harris said about VCU's defense. "In the second half we figured it out. We knew we had to get the ball in the middle and give ourselves options. We knew we had to attack, and in the first half we were timid. But, they did a great job in that zone and that's credit to them."
The Blue Raiders came out in attack mode after taking a quick 17-14 lead at the 12:14 mark in the first half following a Giddy Potts free throw.
The first half featured six ties, eventually with the Rams (5-2) taking a small 30-28 lead into the halftime break.
Middle Tennessee replicated their fast start in the first stanza by taking a five-point lead, 41-36, after halftime following back-to-back Upshaw dunks.
MT held its advantage with 5:01 remaining in the second, but a three-pointer by VCU's Melvin Johnson recaptured the lead, 50-49, for the Rams.
With 3:27 left in the contest, Middle Tennessee tied the game up at 52-52 after two free throws by senior Perrin Buford.
However, two turnovers down the stretch led to a 59-54 deficit for the Blue Raiders, with the Rams eventually going on to seal the 62-56 victory after converting a handful of free throws.
The Blue Raiders turn their attention towards Sun Belt foe South Alabama this Saturday, Dec. 5. Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
MURFREESBORO – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team played a close game throughout, but the upset bid fell just short against VCU, 62-56, on Wednesday night in front of 8,882 fans in the Murphy Center.
MT senior forward Darnell Harris finished with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Harris added three rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
Junior forward Reggie Upshaw posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough down the stretch.
It was a physical, grind-it-out matchup for both squads throughout Wednesday's contest.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders (4-2) held the Rams to 31.7 (20-of-63) percent from the field, while forcing 13 VCU turnovers.
On the offensive side of the ball, MT shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor, including a 19 percent mark (4-of-21) from 3-point range.
"You saw our team, we battled our tails off," Davis said. "We were a tough team tonight. It was like two boxers trying to feel each other out, and then everyone settled in and [VCU] got into that zone and it bothered us. We did some things that hurt them, but give VCU credit."
Harris found cracks in the VCU defense with his scoring output, but said those points were hard to come by at times.
"At first it was kind of difficult," Harris said about VCU's defense. "In the second half we figured it out. We knew we had to get the ball in the middle and give ourselves options. We knew we had to attack, and in the first half we were timid. But, they did a great job in that zone and that's credit to them."
The Blue Raiders came out in attack mode after taking a quick 17-14 lead at the 12:14 mark in the first half following a Giddy Potts free throw.
The first half featured six ties, eventually with the Rams (5-2) taking a small 30-28 lead into the halftime break.
Middle Tennessee replicated their fast start in the first stanza by taking a five-point lead, 41-36, after halftime following back-to-back Upshaw dunks.
MT held its advantage with 5:01 remaining in the second, but a three-pointer by VCU's Melvin Johnson recaptured the lead, 50-49, for the Rams.
With 3:27 left in the contest, Middle Tennessee tied the game up at 52-52 after two free throws by senior Perrin Buford.
However, two turnovers down the stretch led to a 59-54 deficit for the Blue Raiders, with the Rams eventually going on to seal the 62-56 victory after converting a handful of free throws.
The Blue Raiders turn their attention towards Sun Belt foe South Alabama this Saturday, Dec. 5. Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
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