Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, December 30
Birmingham, AL
4 PM
Middle Tennessee
9-4, 1-0
63
at
60
UAB
9-5, 0-1
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
30
33
63
UAB
29
31
60
Team Stats
MT
UAB
FG%
.423
.377
3FG%
.421
.286
FT%
.846
.700
RB
35
32
TO
11
6
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Jimmy Mitchell
Blue Raiders open C-USA play with road win at UAB
12/30/2017 7:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
King, Potts lead MT in back-and-forth battle
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Middle Tennessee opened up conference play Saturday by sending a message across the league that they are ready to defend their title with a 63-60 road win at UAB, who was picked second in the preseason poll.
The Blue Raiders (9-4) rode one their best defensive performances of the season to the 3-point win, holding the Blazers (9-5) to just 37.7 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from 3-point range in a back-and-forth contest that featured 15 lead changes and was tied 12 times.
"It's a great feeling for our team to get the win and be 5-0 in true road games," head coach Kermit Davis said. "We tested our team hard defensively the last three days and we held a good offensive team to 37 percent so I'm real proud of them tonight."
Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Nick King logged 30 points and eight rebounds in the contest, shooting 11-of-16 from the floor, 2-of-3 from three, and knocking down all six free throw attempts. Senior Giddy Potts added 19 points, matching his season high, and eight boards of his own with a season-high five made 3-pointers on the night.
Each offense got off to a slow start in Birmingham as it wasn't until the 10:14 mark that both teams had finally eclipsed 10 points thanks to a triple by freshman Donovan Sims.
UAB's early success against the Blue Raiders came in the paint as eight of the Blazers' first nine points came on paint touches, but adjustments by the Blue Raiders quickly put that to a stop as they logged just four more points in the paint in the half.
Despite starting 0-for-5 from three, the Blazers continued to hold a lead for a majority of the first half but couldn't take a lead of any more than four.
Middle Tennessee found itself down by a score of 26-22 with under three minutes remaining before Potts decided to take over. The senior from Athens, Ala., scored the final eight Blue Raider points of the half including a buzzer beating 3-pointer to claim a 30-29 lead heading into halftime.
Potts led all scorers at half with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field while hitting 3-of-4 triples. Nick King added 11 points before the break, seven of which were MT's first seven points of the contest.
After seven lead changes in the first half, the game remained very back and forth following the break with two more lead changes before the first media timeout of the second half as Potts' fourth triple of the game put MT back on top 35-34.
The Blazers went back to the paint early and often to start the second half with each of their first 15 second half points coming as a result of paint touches to tie the score at 44.
UAB went on to take a 49-46 lead moments later, but a Nick King triple from the corner tied things up and started an 8-0 run capped by Antwain Johnson's step-back jumper to put the Raiders back on top by five, matching their largest lead of the contest.
The string of lead changes continued, however, as a 6-0 UAB run put them ahead at the 2:40 mark leading to three more lead changes in just over a minute before MT corralled the lead for good with 1:39 remaining on a layup by King.
The Blue Raiders closed the game out using their defense rather than their offense to lock up the 63-60 road win as a pair of late free throws by King while holding UAB to just one point in the final 2:03 on their home floor.
"I think we executed well on the defensive end down the stretch and Nick King made some tough buckets down the stretch," Potts said. "We were connected more in this game than we were in Hawaii and that was the big key in the game, us being connected and getting stops down the stretch."
Middle Tennessee starts conference play 1-0 for the second season in a row and has now won three straight in the series with UAB.
The Blue Raiders hit the road again next week to face FIU and Florida Atlantic before finally returning home for a Jan. 11 contest against LA Tech after 33 days away from the Murphy Center.
The Blue Raiders (9-4) rode one their best defensive performances of the season to the 3-point win, holding the Blazers (9-5) to just 37.7 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from 3-point range in a back-and-forth contest that featured 15 lead changes and was tied 12 times.
"It's a great feeling for our team to get the win and be 5-0 in true road games," head coach Kermit Davis said. "We tested our team hard defensively the last three days and we held a good offensive team to 37 percent so I'm real proud of them tonight."
Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Nick King logged 30 points and eight rebounds in the contest, shooting 11-of-16 from the floor, 2-of-3 from three, and knocking down all six free throw attempts. Senior Giddy Potts added 19 points, matching his season high, and eight boards of his own with a season-high five made 3-pointers on the night.
Each offense got off to a slow start in Birmingham as it wasn't until the 10:14 mark that both teams had finally eclipsed 10 points thanks to a triple by freshman Donovan Sims.
UAB's early success against the Blue Raiders came in the paint as eight of the Blazers' first nine points came on paint touches, but adjustments by the Blue Raiders quickly put that to a stop as they logged just four more points in the paint in the half.
Despite starting 0-for-5 from three, the Blazers continued to hold a lead for a majority of the first half but couldn't take a lead of any more than four.
Middle Tennessee found itself down by a score of 26-22 with under three minutes remaining before Potts decided to take over. The senior from Athens, Ala., scored the final eight Blue Raider points of the half including a buzzer beating 3-pointer to claim a 30-29 lead heading into halftime.
Potts led all scorers at half with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field while hitting 3-of-4 triples. Nick King added 11 points before the break, seven of which were MT's first seven points of the contest.
After seven lead changes in the first half, the game remained very back and forth following the break with two more lead changes before the first media timeout of the second half as Potts' fourth triple of the game put MT back on top 35-34.
The Blazers went back to the paint early and often to start the second half with each of their first 15 second half points coming as a result of paint touches to tie the score at 44.
UAB went on to take a 49-46 lead moments later, but a Nick King triple from the corner tied things up and started an 8-0 run capped by Antwain Johnson's step-back jumper to put the Raiders back on top by five, matching their largest lead of the contest.
The string of lead changes continued, however, as a 6-0 UAB run put them ahead at the 2:40 mark leading to three more lead changes in just over a minute before MT corralled the lead for good with 1:39 remaining on a layup by King.
The Blue Raiders closed the game out using their defense rather than their offense to lock up the 63-60 road win as a pair of late free throws by King while holding UAB to just one point in the final 2:03 on their home floor.
"I think we executed well on the defensive end down the stretch and Nick King made some tough buckets down the stretch," Potts said. "We were connected more in this game than we were in Hawaii and that was the big key in the game, us being connected and getting stops down the stretch."
Middle Tennessee starts conference play 1-0 for the second season in a row and has now won three straight in the series with UAB.
The Blue Raiders hit the road again next week to face FIU and Florida Atlantic before finally returning home for a Jan. 11 contest against LA Tech after 33 days away from the Murphy Center.
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