Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 28
Murfreesboro, TN
5 PM
Middle Tennessee
19-3, 9-0
71
vs
61
LA Tech
14-8, 6-3
1
2
F
LA Tech
32
29
61
Middle Tennessee
28
43
71
Team Stats
TECH
MT
FG%
.360
.492
3FG%
.267
.182
FT%
.724
.583
RB
31
39
TO
15
12
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballMT battles back to defeat LA Tech, 71-61
1/28/2017 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Blue Raiders remain perfect in Conference USA
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – In a tough, wire-to-wire battle against Conference USA's second-place team Saturday, Middle Tennessee came out with a hard-fought, 71-61 win over LA Tech to extend its winning streak to nine games.
Head coach Kermit Davis said it was an off-the-court boost that really propelled his team.
"If you had to give a game ball tonight, you have to give it to the fans and to the student body," he said. "That's why you have crowds like that in big conference games like this. I thought our players really fed off of a really enthusiastic student body and crowd. That was a home court advantage today."
The game went LA Tech's way early on. The Bulldogs (14-8, 6-3) used a 16-0 run over the middle of the first quarter to build a 28-17 advantage over the Blue Raiders (19-3, 9-0), who struggled to find themselves from the field.
Just as momentum had swung in favor of the away team, the Blue Raiders found an answer. After Davis was called for a technical foul, the crowd and his team seemed to re-energize. MT rattled off an 11-4 run over the last 4:30 of the first half to grab hold of the momentum and went into halftime down 32-28.
"Our guys just responded great," Davis said. "I wasn't trying to get [a technical], but I thought our guys held tight and ended the half the right way. I thought that was really the key part of the game."
It was Middle Tennessee's play down low that kept them in the game early and seemed to wear down the Bulldogs as the game went along.
After taking down Southern Miss on Thursday thanks to the strength of their play from the outside, the Blue Raiders got back to their bread and butter against the Bulldogs. They outscored LA Tech 48-22 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 39-31.
Davis said he was proud to see his team find a different way to win, and it was of upmost importance against Conference USA's top 3-point percentage defense. The Bulldogs allow opponents to shoot just 31.7 percent from deep and held MT to a 2-for-11 night from downtown.
"Coach always says we have to win different ways," junior Giddy Potts said. "The other night we won by making threes and tonight we won by scoring in the paint. That was our mindset tonight."
The score remained tight over much the second half. LA Tech hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 57 with 3:43 left, but from there it was all blue and white.
A pair of Potts layups and a JaCorey Williams jumper over the next two minutes gave the Blue Raiders a 63-57 lead, the largest advantage for either team in the second half to that point, and effectively put the game out of reach.
Williams, who had a season-low four points against USM, was the leader in the scoring column for MT. The redshirt senior finished with 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting and added 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
"I just like to do whatever it takes for my team to win," he said. "Tonight there were less double teams and I kind of had some space down low. I just tried to play my game tonight."
Potts added 17 points and seven rebounds, while senior Reggie Upshaw had 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Blue Raiders hit the road to kick off February next week. They travel to UTSA on Thursday then stay in Texas for a matchup with UTEP on Saturday. Both are scheduled for 7 p.m. tipoffs.
Head coach Kermit Davis said it was an off-the-court boost that really propelled his team.
"If you had to give a game ball tonight, you have to give it to the fans and to the student body," he said. "That's why you have crowds like that in big conference games like this. I thought our players really fed off of a really enthusiastic student body and crowd. That was a home court advantage today."
The game went LA Tech's way early on. The Bulldogs (14-8, 6-3) used a 16-0 run over the middle of the first quarter to build a 28-17 advantage over the Blue Raiders (19-3, 9-0), who struggled to find themselves from the field.
Just as momentum had swung in favor of the away team, the Blue Raiders found an answer. After Davis was called for a technical foul, the crowd and his team seemed to re-energize. MT rattled off an 11-4 run over the last 4:30 of the first half to grab hold of the momentum and went into halftime down 32-28.
"Our guys just responded great," Davis said. "I wasn't trying to get [a technical], but I thought our guys held tight and ended the half the right way. I thought that was really the key part of the game."
It was Middle Tennessee's play down low that kept them in the game early and seemed to wear down the Bulldogs as the game went along.
After taking down Southern Miss on Thursday thanks to the strength of their play from the outside, the Blue Raiders got back to their bread and butter against the Bulldogs. They outscored LA Tech 48-22 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 39-31.
Davis said he was proud to see his team find a different way to win, and it was of upmost importance against Conference USA's top 3-point percentage defense. The Bulldogs allow opponents to shoot just 31.7 percent from deep and held MT to a 2-for-11 night from downtown.
"Coach always says we have to win different ways," junior Giddy Potts said. "The other night we won by making threes and tonight we won by scoring in the paint. That was our mindset tonight."
The score remained tight over much the second half. LA Tech hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 57 with 3:43 left, but from there it was all blue and white.
A pair of Potts layups and a JaCorey Williams jumper over the next two minutes gave the Blue Raiders a 63-57 lead, the largest advantage for either team in the second half to that point, and effectively put the game out of reach.
Williams, who had a season-low four points against USM, was the leader in the scoring column for MT. The redshirt senior finished with 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting and added 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
"I just like to do whatever it takes for my team to win," he said. "Tonight there were less double teams and I kind of had some space down low. I just tried to play my game tonight."
Potts added 17 points and seven rebounds, while senior Reggie Upshaw had 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Blue Raiders hit the road to kick off February next week. They travel to UTSA on Thursday then stay in Texas for a matchup with UTEP on Saturday. Both are scheduled for 7 p.m. tipoffs.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
