Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, December 21
Nashville, TN
7 PM
Middle Tennessee
3-9
56
vs
74
Ole Miss
9-2
1
2
F
Ole Miss
38
36
74
Middle Tennessee
26
30
56
Team Stats
OM
MT
FG%
.500
.339
3FG%
.364
.357
FT%
.571
.684
RB
42
30
TO
17
17
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballRaiders fall to Ole Miss in Battle at Bridgestone
12/21/2018 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The return of Kermit Davis didn't go Middle Tennessee's way Friday.
Davis, who left MT in the offseason as its all-time winningest head coach with 332 victories in 16 years, brought his Ole Miss Rebels (9-2) to Nashville, where the Blue Raiders (3-9) met them at Bridgestone Arena for the Battle at Bridgestone.
After much of the first half was largely competitive, the Rebels took over just before halftime and pulled away after the break, winning 74-56.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate Coach Davis," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said. "It was great having him back in the area, and I know it was fun for him and his family and staff.
"I'd like to really thank the fans for showing up … I obviously just wish things were a little tighter in the last four or five minutes."
The Blue Raiders had dominated the series under Davis the past few seasons, winning four of the five meetings when the Mississippi native was at the helm to push their all-time advantage over Ole Miss to 6-4.
Middle Tennessee threated early on to keep its good streak going against its former coach's bunch, but it couldn't rebound after a late first-half run.
A five-point swing punctuated by an Antonio Green 3-pointer cut MT's deficit to 24-21 with 4:20 left in the first half, but the Rebels scored the next 10 and entered halftime with a 38-26 advantage. They carried that momentum over and went on to lead by as many as 29 in the second half.
"We just had some careless plays," Green said. "We played well defensively, that was just a bad stretch for us and we gave them a chance to separate."
The Blue Raiders did a good job of making things tough on the Ole Miss offense, forcing 17 turnovers (12 in the first half) that led to 21 points. Their fortunes weren't as good on the offensive end, though.
Middle Tennessee managed just 34 percent shooting with 17 turnovers compared to seven assists. Only five players managed to score.
"The offense, some of the plays we were running, was getting us easy scoring opportunities, but, unfortunately, we just missed several," McDevitt said. "That can be a little deflating emotionally … and it's a little bit of a sign of a young, immature team."
Green led the way for MT with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting (5-8 from distance), while freshman Jayce Johnson added 12 and a team-high seven rebounds. Junior Reggie Scurry rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13.
They'll hope to get more help on the offensive end when the Blue Raiders make a tough road trip to Rhode Island to close out the non-conference slate on Dec. 30. Conference USA play will start Jan. 3 at home against FIU.
"It starts in practice," Johnson said. "We have to keep working on knowing each other and getting that chemistry. It's tough to replace that chemistry. We have to build that up, and once we do, I think we'll be alright."
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.
Davis, who left MT in the offseason as its all-time winningest head coach with 332 victories in 16 years, brought his Ole Miss Rebels (9-2) to Nashville, where the Blue Raiders (3-9) met them at Bridgestone Arena for the Battle at Bridgestone.
After much of the first half was largely competitive, the Rebels took over just before halftime and pulled away after the break, winning 74-56.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate Coach Davis," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said. "It was great having him back in the area, and I know it was fun for him and his family and staff.
"I'd like to really thank the fans for showing up … I obviously just wish things were a little tighter in the last four or five minutes."
The Blue Raiders had dominated the series under Davis the past few seasons, winning four of the five meetings when the Mississippi native was at the helm to push their all-time advantage over Ole Miss to 6-4.
Middle Tennessee threated early on to keep its good streak going against its former coach's bunch, but it couldn't rebound after a late first-half run.
A five-point swing punctuated by an Antonio Green 3-pointer cut MT's deficit to 24-21 with 4:20 left in the first half, but the Rebels scored the next 10 and entered halftime with a 38-26 advantage. They carried that momentum over and went on to lead by as many as 29 in the second half.
"We just had some careless plays," Green said. "We played well defensively, that was just a bad stretch for us and we gave them a chance to separate."
The Blue Raiders did a good job of making things tough on the Ole Miss offense, forcing 17 turnovers (12 in the first half) that led to 21 points. Their fortunes weren't as good on the offensive end, though.
Middle Tennessee managed just 34 percent shooting with 17 turnovers compared to seven assists. Only five players managed to score.
"The offense, some of the plays we were running, was getting us easy scoring opportunities, but, unfortunately, we just missed several," McDevitt said. "That can be a little deflating emotionally … and it's a little bit of a sign of a young, immature team."
Green led the way for MT with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting (5-8 from distance), while freshman Jayce Johnson added 12 and a team-high seven rebounds. Junior Reggie Scurry rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13.
They'll hope to get more help on the offensive end when the Blue Raiders make a tough road trip to Rhode Island to close out the non-conference slate on Dec. 30. Conference USA play will start Jan. 3 at home against FIU.
"It starts in practice," Johnson said. "We have to keep working on knowing each other and getting that chemistry. It's tough to replace that chemistry. We have to build that up, and once we do, I think we'll be alright."
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.
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
