Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, March 12
Birmingham, Ala.
2:30 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
59
vs
52
Old Dominion University
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballBlue Raiders Upset Monarchs in C-USA Quarterfinal
3/12/2015 5:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MT advances to semifinal after 59-52 victory
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sixth-seeded Middle Tennessee upset third-seeded Old Dominion 59-52 in the Conference USA Quarterfinal to advance to its third-straight conference semifinal on Thursday afternoon.
The Blue Raiders have now won three-straight and are 18-15 as MT Head Coach Kermit Davis picked up his 250th victory at the helm of the Blue Raiders. Davis is now 8-5 in conference quarterfinals with Middle Tennessee and has secured eighth-consecutive season with a .500 or better record.
MT plays the underdog roll again as it puts its sights on second-seeded UTEP in the semifinal.
Today's match-up featured the two best defensive team in the conference, and the Blue Raiders were able to hold ODU scoreless for the first 7:20 as they took a 7-0 lead before the Monarchs drained baskets on back-to-back possessions.
The Blue Raiders continued to push the tempo on the offensive end and secured a nine point lead with 8 minutes remaining in the half. MT's early success was complimentary of the team's presence on the defensive glass with 13 of its 18 first half rebounds coming on the defensive end. The Blue Raiders held 18-13 advantage off the glass in the half.
In the first 20 minutes MT shot a strong 41% from the field and let its defense smother the Monarchs for the first half lead.
The Blue Raiders held a 25-20 advantage over the Monarchs at the halftime buzzer with ODU's first team all-conference member Trey Freeman recording 15 of the team's 20 points.
The Monarchs started the second half with an 8-0 run to collect their first lead of the game at 28-27 in the first three minutes.
The two teams would continue to battle back-and-forth which each team going on series of mini runs.
MT found the lead again after Jacquez Rozier was fouled making a layup and converted on the free-throw to take a 47-46 lead with 4:36 left in the game.
That play turned the momentum in the Blue Raiders favor with MT converting a 9-0 run starting with Rozier's 3-point drive.
Old Dominion closed the game going 1-of-8 from the field as the Blue Raiders clinched the 59-52 upset.
Perrin Buford led the team in scoring for the second game in a row with 17 points, while Jaqawn Raymond added 13 points for the Blue Raiders. Upshaw led the team off the glass, recording nine boards; the most in the game.
"There's no doubt in my mind Old Dominion is an NCAA Tournament team and they played just like it," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "We beat a really talented team, these two guys (Raymond and Buford) played well. Our team really started defending and we got the ball in paint."
Freeman ended with 24 of the Monarchs 52 points. The Monarchs are now 24-7 with two of their losses coming at the hands of the Blue Raiders.
This is the second year in a row that the Blue Raiders have bested Old Dominion in the Conference USA Quarterfinal round.
Middle Tennessee will face second-seeded UTEP in the C-USA Semifinal at 3 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network on Friday in hopes to make its first championship final since 2008.
The Blue Raiders fell on the road to UTEP earlier this season 83-70, behind the Miners shooting 75 percent from 3-point range; the highest percentage an opponent has ever shot against MT.
The Blue Raiders have now won three-straight and are 18-15 as MT Head Coach Kermit Davis picked up his 250th victory at the helm of the Blue Raiders. Davis is now 8-5 in conference quarterfinals with Middle Tennessee and has secured eighth-consecutive season with a .500 or better record.
MT plays the underdog roll again as it puts its sights on second-seeded UTEP in the semifinal.
Today's match-up featured the two best defensive team in the conference, and the Blue Raiders were able to hold ODU scoreless for the first 7:20 as they took a 7-0 lead before the Monarchs drained baskets on back-to-back possessions.
The Blue Raiders continued to push the tempo on the offensive end and secured a nine point lead with 8 minutes remaining in the half. MT's early success was complimentary of the team's presence on the defensive glass with 13 of its 18 first half rebounds coming on the defensive end. The Blue Raiders held 18-13 advantage off the glass in the half.
In the first 20 minutes MT shot a strong 41% from the field and let its defense smother the Monarchs for the first half lead.
The Blue Raiders held a 25-20 advantage over the Monarchs at the halftime buzzer with ODU's first team all-conference member Trey Freeman recording 15 of the team's 20 points.
The Monarchs started the second half with an 8-0 run to collect their first lead of the game at 28-27 in the first three minutes.
The two teams would continue to battle back-and-forth which each team going on series of mini runs.
MT found the lead again after Jacquez Rozier was fouled making a layup and converted on the free-throw to take a 47-46 lead with 4:36 left in the game.
That play turned the momentum in the Blue Raiders favor with MT converting a 9-0 run starting with Rozier's 3-point drive.
Old Dominion closed the game going 1-of-8 from the field as the Blue Raiders clinched the 59-52 upset.
Perrin Buford led the team in scoring for the second game in a row with 17 points, while Jaqawn Raymond added 13 points for the Blue Raiders. Upshaw led the team off the glass, recording nine boards; the most in the game.
"There's no doubt in my mind Old Dominion is an NCAA Tournament team and they played just like it," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "We beat a really talented team, these two guys (Raymond and Buford) played well. Our team really started defending and we got the ball in paint."
Freeman ended with 24 of the Monarchs 52 points. The Monarchs are now 24-7 with two of their losses coming at the hands of the Blue Raiders.
This is the second year in a row that the Blue Raiders have bested Old Dominion in the Conference USA Quarterfinal round.
Middle Tennessee will face second-seeded UTEP in the C-USA Semifinal at 3 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network on Friday in hopes to make its first championship final since 2008.
The Blue Raiders fell on the road to UTEP earlier this season 83-70, behind the Miners shooting 75 percent from 3-point range; the highest percentage an opponent has ever shot against MT.
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