Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Sunday, February 22
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
12:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
-1513, 87 CUSA
68
vs
66
WKU
-1610, 95 CUSA
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| WKU | 35 | 31 | 66 |
| Middle Tennessee | 38 | 30 | 68 |
Team Stats
WKU
MT
FG%
.397
.600
3FG%
.286
.524
FT%
.737
.600
RB
34
27
TO
13
20
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballBlue Raiders topple the Hilltoppers in Murphy Center
2/22/2015 3:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MT defeats WKU 68-66 in 100th year of rivalry
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team (15-13, 8-7 C-USA) came away with a thrilling 68-66 victory over rival Western Kentucky (16-10, 9-5 C-USA) in front of a season-high 5,227 fans Sunday afternoon inside the Murphy Center.
In the 100th year of the rivalry, the fans wouldn't go home disappointed as the game came down to the wire in a nail-biter. While trailing 59-58 with 1:45 left in the game, Potts and Harris connected on a pair of back-to-back trifectas to put MT in front, 64-59.
The Hilltoppers had one more chance to tie the game with 22 seconds left but MT came away with a big stop on defense to prevent WKU from tying the game on an attempted 3-pointer.
With the win, MT finishes the home slate 12-3 with a mark of 57-7 over the past four seasons in the Glass House.
Coming off a career-high 28 points against Marshall on Thursday, freshman Giddy Potts stepped up again with a team-high 22 points on an 8-for-13 shooting display and four treys. Junior Darnell Harris fired up 14 points on four 3-pointers and a pair of foul shots. Sophomore Reggie Upshaw rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points and a team-high eight boards.
MT shot a season-high 60 percent from the field (24-of-40), while shooting 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from outside the arc.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders held WKU to under 40 percent shooting from the field while limiting the Hilltoppers to 6-of-21 shooting from the 3-point line. WKU's T.J. Price had a game-high 24 points while George Fant finished the game with 19 points and 12 boards.
After getting off to a slow start and a 9-2 deficit to the Hilltoppers in the first 3:26 of the contest, the Blue Raiders outscored WKU 36-26 the rest of way to take a 38-35 lead into the locker room.
With MT trailing 19-14 at the 11:38 mark of the first stanza, a Jaqawn Raymond 3-pointer sparked a 13-0 run that gave the Blue Raiders a 27-19 lead. MT made five straight shots during the run after Potts' emphatic slam brought the crowd to its feet.
WKU wouldn't go away despite trailing for the latter part of the opening half, cutting the MT lead to three off a 6-0 spurt before going into the break. MT shot an excellent 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from the field and 6-for-12 (50 percent) from 3-point land.
The second half was close as neither team led by more than five points while the two rivals exchanged six ties and six lead changes over the course of the second half.
In the end, it was the Blue Raiders that came up with big as shots as they shot 5-for-7 in the final 6:46 of the game and made their final three shots that propelled them to victory.
"Our team beat a really good team that played well, and they're well coached," said head coach Kermit Davis. "We played really well for 40 minutes, and you knew Western's two guys, (George) Fant and (T.J.) Price, they have been there for four years and they understand this rivalry. I was very proud of bench play. I thought they played terrific tonight. It was a great way for our seniors to go out. "
The Blue Raiders will play their final three games of the regular season on the road, beginning with UAB next Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2:00 p.m., in Birmingham, Ala. in a nationally televised game on ASN.Â
In the 100th year of the rivalry, the fans wouldn't go home disappointed as the game came down to the wire in a nail-biter. While trailing 59-58 with 1:45 left in the game, Potts and Harris connected on a pair of back-to-back trifectas to put MT in front, 64-59.
The Hilltoppers had one more chance to tie the game with 22 seconds left but MT came away with a big stop on defense to prevent WKU from tying the game on an attempted 3-pointer.
With the win, MT finishes the home slate 12-3 with a mark of 57-7 over the past four seasons in the Glass House.
Coming off a career-high 28 points against Marshall on Thursday, freshman Giddy Potts stepped up again with a team-high 22 points on an 8-for-13 shooting display and four treys. Junior Darnell Harris fired up 14 points on four 3-pointers and a pair of foul shots. Sophomore Reggie Upshaw rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points and a team-high eight boards.
MT shot a season-high 60 percent from the field (24-of-40), while shooting 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from outside the arc.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders held WKU to under 40 percent shooting from the field while limiting the Hilltoppers to 6-of-21 shooting from the 3-point line. WKU's T.J. Price had a game-high 24 points while George Fant finished the game with 19 points and 12 boards.
After getting off to a slow start and a 9-2 deficit to the Hilltoppers in the first 3:26 of the contest, the Blue Raiders outscored WKU 36-26 the rest of way to take a 38-35 lead into the locker room.
With MT trailing 19-14 at the 11:38 mark of the first stanza, a Jaqawn Raymond 3-pointer sparked a 13-0 run that gave the Blue Raiders a 27-19 lead. MT made five straight shots during the run after Potts' emphatic slam brought the crowd to its feet.
WKU wouldn't go away despite trailing for the latter part of the opening half, cutting the MT lead to three off a 6-0 spurt before going into the break. MT shot an excellent 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from the field and 6-for-12 (50 percent) from 3-point land.
The second half was close as neither team led by more than five points while the two rivals exchanged six ties and six lead changes over the course of the second half.
In the end, it was the Blue Raiders that came up with big as shots as they shot 5-for-7 in the final 6:46 of the game and made their final three shots that propelled them to victory.
"Our team beat a really good team that played well, and they're well coached," said head coach Kermit Davis. "We played really well for 40 minutes, and you knew Western's two guys, (George) Fant and (T.J.) Price, they have been there for four years and they understand this rivalry. I was very proud of bench play. I thought they played terrific tonight. It was a great way for our seniors to go out. "
The Blue Raiders will play their final three games of the regular season on the road, beginning with UAB next Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2:00 p.m., in Birmingham, Ala. in a nationally televised game on ASN.Â
Former Head MBB Coach Kermit Davis - 10th Anniversary of NCAA win over MSU
Wednesday, March 18
Nick McDevitt LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille (Video) - 3.2.26
Monday, March 02
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs NMSU 2/28/26
Saturday, February 28
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Presser 2/26/26
Thursday, February 26
