Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, February 16
Bowling Green, KY
8 PM
Middle Tennessee
23-4 (13-1)
78
at
52
WKU
12-14 (6-7)
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
32
46
78
WKU
18
34
52
Team Stats
MT
WKU
FG%
.534
.370
3FG%
.412
.474
FT%
.818
.600
RB
37
24
TO
4
8
STL
6
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
Raiders topple the Toppers in Bowling Green, 78-52
2/16/2017 10:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Upshaw sets school record with 106 career starts
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Middle Tennessee notched its second-biggest win ever against WKU and its biggest ever in Bowling Green on Thursday night, downing the Hilltoppers 78-52.
Middle Tennessee (23-4, 13-1) shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) on the night while holding WKU (12-14, 6-7) to 37 percent (17-of-46). MT hammered WKU down low, winning the rebounding battle 37-24 and outscoring the Toppers 36-10 in the paint.
The Blue Raiders also tied the school record for fewest turnovers in a game (4), a record that was set earlier this season against Toledo in the Challenge in Music City. MT has now had single-digit turnovers in 11 games this season.
JaCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw each logged double-doubles in the contest as Williams finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Upshaw had 19 and 11.
Upshaw, a senior from Chattanooga, also started the 106th game of his career to become the all-time leader at Middle Tennessee in career starts.
"We had a great gameday practice and had a lot of guys really play well off the bench," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "Both [Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams] played well and were great leaders tonight."
WKU opened the scoring with a free throw and a jumper to go up 3-0 before the Blue Raiders went on an 8-0 run.
After opening up a 17-10 lead on a stuff by Brandon Walters, WKU responded with a 6-0 run to tighten things up.
Aldonis Foote came off the bench to make an immediate impact for MT, swiping a steal on his first possession and adding an assist, a rebound and a 15-foot jumper in his first few minutes of action.
Foote finished the night with six points, two boards, two assists and a steal.
"Aldonis' attitude and effort in practice has been terrific," Davis said. "When he's dialed in he is a really big part of this team. You saw it last year when he played so well during our run to the NCAA Tournament."
Up 19-18 with 4:33 left in the half, JaCorey Williams began to go to work down low for the Blue Raiders.
Williams scored four of the last seven MT baskets before the break to finish the half with 10 points and seven rebounds as the Raiders closed on a 13-0 run to lead 32-18 going into the locker room.
MT held WKU to just seven made baskets in 25 attempts in the first half while holding them scoreless in the final 4:33. The Hilltoppers were 0-for-6 in the final minutes before half while the Blue Raiders went 7-for-7 to push their field goal percentage to 45.2 percent.
Upshaw opened the second half scoring with a basket and one to extend the Blue Raider run to 16-0 and give himself 10 points in the game.
WKU responded with a jumper but MT went on a 9-2 run to double up the Toppers at 44-22 on a triple by Xavier Habersham.
The sharp-shooting senior was 4-of-4 on the night from downtown to tie his career high of 12 points
"I am very proud of Xavier," Davis added. "He's got a broken nose and has to have surgery on Tuesday, but when he gives us an extra perimeter shooter that really opens up the floor for us offensively. That was a really good night for him."
The Toppers responded with a triple but it was all Blue and White the rest of the night. After another WKU 3-pointer made the score 51-32, MT went on an 11-0 run to open up a 30-point lead on its bitter rival.
Antwain Johnson gave the Raiders their biggest lead of the night at 74-42 with 2:15 to go.
Davis pulled his starters to an ovation from the road Raiders in attendance and ran out the clock on WKU as MT rolled to its 12th win away from the Murphy Center.
Giddy Potts added nine points and three boards for the Blue Raiders while Edward Simpson tied his career-high six assists and pulled down three rebounds.
Middle Tennessee continues the three-game road swing Saturday at Marshall. The Blue Raiders and Thundering Herd tip off at 5:00 CT on American Sports Network.
Middle Tennessee (23-4, 13-1) shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) on the night while holding WKU (12-14, 6-7) to 37 percent (17-of-46). MT hammered WKU down low, winning the rebounding battle 37-24 and outscoring the Toppers 36-10 in the paint.
The Blue Raiders also tied the school record for fewest turnovers in a game (4), a record that was set earlier this season against Toledo in the Challenge in Music City. MT has now had single-digit turnovers in 11 games this season.
JaCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw each logged double-doubles in the contest as Williams finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Upshaw had 19 and 11.
Upshaw, a senior from Chattanooga, also started the 106th game of his career to become the all-time leader at Middle Tennessee in career starts.
"We had a great gameday practice and had a lot of guys really play well off the bench," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "Both [Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams] played well and were great leaders tonight."
WKU opened the scoring with a free throw and a jumper to go up 3-0 before the Blue Raiders went on an 8-0 run.
After opening up a 17-10 lead on a stuff by Brandon Walters, WKU responded with a 6-0 run to tighten things up.
Aldonis Foote came off the bench to make an immediate impact for MT, swiping a steal on his first possession and adding an assist, a rebound and a 15-foot jumper in his first few minutes of action.
Foote finished the night with six points, two boards, two assists and a steal.
"Aldonis' attitude and effort in practice has been terrific," Davis said. "When he's dialed in he is a really big part of this team. You saw it last year when he played so well during our run to the NCAA Tournament."
Up 19-18 with 4:33 left in the half, JaCorey Williams began to go to work down low for the Blue Raiders.
Williams scored four of the last seven MT baskets before the break to finish the half with 10 points and seven rebounds as the Raiders closed on a 13-0 run to lead 32-18 going into the locker room.
MT held WKU to just seven made baskets in 25 attempts in the first half while holding them scoreless in the final 4:33. The Hilltoppers were 0-for-6 in the final minutes before half while the Blue Raiders went 7-for-7 to push their field goal percentage to 45.2 percent.
Upshaw opened the second half scoring with a basket and one to extend the Blue Raider run to 16-0 and give himself 10 points in the game.
WKU responded with a jumper but MT went on a 9-2 run to double up the Toppers at 44-22 on a triple by Xavier Habersham.
The sharp-shooting senior was 4-of-4 on the night from downtown to tie his career high of 12 points
"I am very proud of Xavier," Davis added. "He's got a broken nose and has to have surgery on Tuesday, but when he gives us an extra perimeter shooter that really opens up the floor for us offensively. That was a really good night for him."
The Toppers responded with a triple but it was all Blue and White the rest of the night. After another WKU 3-pointer made the score 51-32, MT went on an 11-0 run to open up a 30-point lead on its bitter rival.
Antwain Johnson gave the Raiders their biggest lead of the night at 74-42 with 2:15 to go.
Davis pulled his starters to an ovation from the road Raiders in attendance and ran out the clock on WKU as MT rolled to its 12th win away from the Murphy Center.
Giddy Potts added nine points and three boards for the Blue Raiders while Edward Simpson tied his career-high six assists and pulled down three rebounds.
Middle Tennessee continues the three-game road swing Saturday at Marshall. The Blue Raiders and Thundering Herd tip off at 5:00 CT on American Sports Network.
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