Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 27
Murfreesboro, TN
6 PM
Middle Tennessee
16-5, 8-1
81
vs
50
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UTEP
7-14, 2-7
1
2
F
UTEP
17
33
50
Middle Tennessee
30
51
81
Team Stats
UTEP
MT
FG%
.333
.500
3FG%
.238
.333
FT%
.579
.857
RB
26
42
TO
14
12
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballBlue Raiders cruise by UTEP on home floor
1/27/2018 8:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MT wins 14th straight league home game
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Redemption was sweet for Middle Tennessee Saturday, as the Blue Raiders welcomed UTEP to the Murphy Center and left with a dominant 81-50 win.
"It was a good team win," Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis said. "I thought we lost our way about the last three minutes of the game, but besides that I thought we had a good plan and our guys carried it out."
The last time the teams met in the regular season, the Miners (7-14, 2-7) ruined MT's bid at a perfect 2016-17 Conference USA record with a 57-54 win on Feb. 4, 2017. The Raiders (16-5, 8-1) didn't let the away team sniff an upset Saturday, though.
Middle Tennessee got off to a roaring start on both ends of the floor, jumping to a 7-0 lead in the game's first three minutes and going up by as many as 19 in the first half.
As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Blue Raiders found themselves up 30-17, limiting UTEP to its fewest points in any half this season.
"Our team continues to guard," Davis said. "I thought we moved our feet, put some switching into the game … and our 13 to double-fist really keeps teams off balance.
"The plan was good, and credit to these guys for carrying it out."
Senior Edward Simpson keyed a balanced offensive effort in the first half.
He surpassed his season-high point total with nine in the first half, finishing with that total, and also went to the free-throw line for the first time this season. He hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
"When you see your first few [shots] go down in the game, everything kind of starts to boost up, too," Simpson said. "It was good to get to the free-throw line and just continue to be aggressive."
After limiting the Miners to 22 percent shooting (6-of-27) in the first half, Middle Tennessee's defense continued to dominate after the break.
The Blue Raiders, who went into the game giving up a conference-best 59.4 points per game in C-USA play, never let UTEP get comfortable offensively. It finished just 17-of-51 from the floor and 5-of-21 from 3-point range with its lowest scoring output of the season.
Middle Tennessee also did a banner job mopping up all of the Miners' misses, winning the rebounding battle 42-26. The Blue Raiders went into the game as C-USA's top rebounding team (39.9 per game) in league play.
Senior Brandon Walters, who set a new career high with 14 boards on Thursday against UTSA, was again dominant on the glass. He had 12 rebounds to go along with 17 points in his first-career double-double. He led the game in both categories.
"It felt great just knowing I was able to rebound and be physical in the paint," Walters said. "I tried to take my time when I got the ball and finish."
Nick King finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Blue Raiders. The senior went into the game second in the conference and 16th nationally averaging 21.8 points per outing.
Junior Karl Gamble was the other Raider in double-figure scoring with 12.
Middle Tennessee will hit the road next week for its penultimate road trip of the season. It will travel to Old Dominion, which is tied with WKU at 7-1 in league play, on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tipoff before going to Charlotte Saturday for a 6 p.m. game.
"We've had some knock-down, drag-outs with Old Dominion," Davis said. "That will be another really good RPI game, and I think it's a game that national people will pay attention, too. That's always good for Conference USA."
"It was a good team win," Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis said. "I thought we lost our way about the last three minutes of the game, but besides that I thought we had a good plan and our guys carried it out."
The last time the teams met in the regular season, the Miners (7-14, 2-7) ruined MT's bid at a perfect 2016-17 Conference USA record with a 57-54 win on Feb. 4, 2017. The Raiders (16-5, 8-1) didn't let the away team sniff an upset Saturday, though.
Middle Tennessee got off to a roaring start on both ends of the floor, jumping to a 7-0 lead in the game's first three minutes and going up by as many as 19 in the first half.
As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Blue Raiders found themselves up 30-17, limiting UTEP to its fewest points in any half this season.
"Our team continues to guard," Davis said. "I thought we moved our feet, put some switching into the game … and our 13 to double-fist really keeps teams off balance.
"The plan was good, and credit to these guys for carrying it out."
Senior Edward Simpson keyed a balanced offensive effort in the first half.
He surpassed his season-high point total with nine in the first half, finishing with that total, and also went to the free-throw line for the first time this season. He hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
"When you see your first few [shots] go down in the game, everything kind of starts to boost up, too," Simpson said. "It was good to get to the free-throw line and just continue to be aggressive."
After limiting the Miners to 22 percent shooting (6-of-27) in the first half, Middle Tennessee's defense continued to dominate after the break.
The Blue Raiders, who went into the game giving up a conference-best 59.4 points per game in C-USA play, never let UTEP get comfortable offensively. It finished just 17-of-51 from the floor and 5-of-21 from 3-point range with its lowest scoring output of the season.
Middle Tennessee also did a banner job mopping up all of the Miners' misses, winning the rebounding battle 42-26. The Blue Raiders went into the game as C-USA's top rebounding team (39.9 per game) in league play.
Senior Brandon Walters, who set a new career high with 14 boards on Thursday against UTSA, was again dominant on the glass. He had 12 rebounds to go along with 17 points in his first-career double-double. He led the game in both categories.
"It felt great just knowing I was able to rebound and be physical in the paint," Walters said. "I tried to take my time when I got the ball and finish."
Nick King finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Blue Raiders. The senior went into the game second in the conference and 16th nationally averaging 21.8 points per outing.
Junior Karl Gamble was the other Raider in double-figure scoring with 12.
Middle Tennessee will hit the road next week for its penultimate road trip of the season. It will travel to Old Dominion, which is tied with WKU at 7-1 in league play, on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tipoff before going to Charlotte Saturday for a 6 p.m. game.
"We've had some knock-down, drag-outs with Old Dominion," Davis said. "That will be another really good RPI game, and I think it's a game that national people will pay attention, too. That's always good for Conference USA."
MTSU Men's Basketball Recap vs Kennesaw State University
Friday, February 13
Nick McDevitt LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille (Video) - 2.9.26
Monday, February 09
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs FIU 2/4/26
Wednesday, February 04
Nick McDevitt LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille (Video) - 2.2.26
Tuesday, February 03
