Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, November 9
Murfreesboro, TN
11 AM
Middle Tennessee
2-0
102
vs
70
Milligan
4-2 (1-0)
1
2
F
Milligan
25
45
70
Middle Tennessee
55
47
102
MT beats Milligan for McDevitt's 100th win
11/9/2018 1:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Gamble, Scurry log double-doubles
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Nick McDevitt reached a milestone while capturing his second win at Middle Tennessee Friday.
The first-year leader of the Blue Raiders (2-0) netted his 100th career victory by coaching MT to a 102-70 win over Milligan College (4-2). McDevitt came to Middle Tennessee this season after having 98 victories in his five-year run at UNC Asheville.
"It was a good team win for our boys today," McDevitt said. "I've been fortunate enough to coach with a good staff around me and great players … and be at two great places in Asheville and now at Middle Tennessee.
"Hopefully we can keep that going, but today was a fun day."
The Raiders didn't start hot from the field, making four of their first 13 shots in the game's first seven minutes.
Milligan jumped to a 12-10 advantage, but that's the last lead the Buffaloes would sniff.
Middle Tennessee rebounded to make 17 of its next 27 shots, leading to a 45-13 run to close the first half. It led 55-25 at the break.
"I don't think we were forcing anything, really, I think it was just the way the game unfolded," redshirt junior Antonio Green.
Green paced the run for the Blue Raiders. After not hitting a shot for the game's first nine minutes, he closed the first half with 18 on 7-for-16 shooting and 4-for-11 from 3-point range.
He was also the leading scorer in MT's season-opening win against Lees-McRae with 24, and he finished Friday with another 24 on 9-for-19 shooting and 6-for-13 from distance.
"I think our offense opens up a lot of good looks for us, and easy ones," Green said. "Playing fast gives us more opportunities to score … so when we play good offense, we get plenty of opportunities."
The Blue Raiders also locked down the Buffaloes on the defensive end.
Milligan finished the game shooting 26 for 69, good for 37.7 percent, and MT gobbled up 38 defensive rebounds to win the battle on the boards 56-34.
"We just locked in and trusted each other," senior Karl Gamble said. "Coach put in a good game plan for us … and we just competed at the defensive end."
Offensively, Middle Tennessee saw double-figure scoring days from six players, including a career-high 16 from Gamble. He also had a career-high 12 rebounds to register his first double-double.
Reggie Scurry secured his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while James Hawthorne had 12 points and three blocks and Donovan Sims and Jayce Johnson added 11 points apiece.
It was Johnson's first collegiate game after missing Tuesday's season opener while recovering from a concussion. He had seven rebounds and four assists and shot a perfect 4-for-4.
"I thought Jayce, in particular, did a nice job today," McDevitt said. "He's a guy that plays within himself and understands who's around him. He has those leadership qualities and poise you need from a young player. We're going to need him a lot this year."
McDevitt will look for win No. 101 on Nov. 12 at Belmont. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Education Day draws 7,700
The crowd was filled with schoolkids on Friday, as Middle Tennessee played host to Rutherford County Schools students for its annual Education Day game.
"I just want to thank Rutherford County Schools for a great and very loud crowd," McDevitt said. "It was great having all the schoolkids here at the game, and I really want to thank the teachers in the county and the administrators.
"It takes a lot of people to put all this together … so, we really appreciate all the efforts that went into that."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
The first-year leader of the Blue Raiders (2-0) netted his 100th career victory by coaching MT to a 102-70 win over Milligan College (4-2). McDevitt came to Middle Tennessee this season after having 98 victories in his five-year run at UNC Asheville.
"It was a good team win for our boys today," McDevitt said. "I've been fortunate enough to coach with a good staff around me and great players … and be at two great places in Asheville and now at Middle Tennessee.
"Hopefully we can keep that going, but today was a fun day."
The Raiders didn't start hot from the field, making four of their first 13 shots in the game's first seven minutes.
Milligan jumped to a 12-10 advantage, but that's the last lead the Buffaloes would sniff.
Middle Tennessee rebounded to make 17 of its next 27 shots, leading to a 45-13 run to close the first half. It led 55-25 at the break.
"I don't think we were forcing anything, really, I think it was just the way the game unfolded," redshirt junior Antonio Green.
Green paced the run for the Blue Raiders. After not hitting a shot for the game's first nine minutes, he closed the first half with 18 on 7-for-16 shooting and 4-for-11 from 3-point range.
He was also the leading scorer in MT's season-opening win against Lees-McRae with 24, and he finished Friday with another 24 on 9-for-19 shooting and 6-for-13 from distance.
"I think our offense opens up a lot of good looks for us, and easy ones," Green said. "Playing fast gives us more opportunities to score … so when we play good offense, we get plenty of opportunities."
The Blue Raiders also locked down the Buffaloes on the defensive end.
Milligan finished the game shooting 26 for 69, good for 37.7 percent, and MT gobbled up 38 defensive rebounds to win the battle on the boards 56-34.
"We just locked in and trusted each other," senior Karl Gamble said. "Coach put in a good game plan for us … and we just competed at the defensive end."
Offensively, Middle Tennessee saw double-figure scoring days from six players, including a career-high 16 from Gamble. He also had a career-high 12 rebounds to register his first double-double.
Reggie Scurry secured his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while James Hawthorne had 12 points and three blocks and Donovan Sims and Jayce Johnson added 11 points apiece.
It was Johnson's first collegiate game after missing Tuesday's season opener while recovering from a concussion. He had seven rebounds and four assists and shot a perfect 4-for-4.
"I thought Jayce, in particular, did a nice job today," McDevitt said. "He's a guy that plays within himself and understands who's around him. He has those leadership qualities and poise you need from a young player. We're going to need him a lot this year."
McDevitt will look for win No. 101 on Nov. 12 at Belmont. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Education Day draws 7,700
The crowd was filled with schoolkids on Friday, as Middle Tennessee played host to Rutherford County Schools students for its annual Education Day game.
"I just want to thank Rutherford County Schools for a great and very loud crowd," McDevitt said. "It was great having all the schoolkids here at the game, and I really want to thank the teachers in the county and the administrators.
"It takes a lot of people to put all this together … so, we really appreciate all the efforts that went into that."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Team Stats
MC
MT
FG%
.377
.519
3FG%
.391
.400
FT%
.563
.632
RB
34
56
TO
16
16
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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