Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 5
Nashville, TN
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
3-6
51
at
79
Vanderbilt
6-2
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
21
30
51
Vanderbilt
42
37
79
Team Stats
MT
VU
FG%
.357
.473
3FG%
.143
.429
FT%
.474
.947
RB
32
38
TO
14
13
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballBlue Raiders fall to SEC foe Vanderbilt
12/5/2018 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Green now three shy of 1,000 career points
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee fell down early and couldn't recover Wednesday at Vanderbilt.
With a 79-51 loss, the Blue Raiders (3-6) snapped their three-game winning streak over their Nashville neighbor Commodores (6-2). It was Middle Tennessee's first defeat at Memorial Coliseum since the 2012 season, stopping a run of back-to-back wins at the historic venue.
"Congrats to Vandy, their team, their coaches," Raiders head coach Nick McDevitt said. "I thought our team played really well in spurts. It was kind of two- and three-minute spurts that really hurt us tonight."
It was a tough night offensively for the blue-clad men, and the troubles started from the tip.
Just over 11 minutes in, MT held a shooting percentage of 16.7 percent (2-12) and had six turnovers, allowing Vanderbilt to build a 16-6 lead.
At halftime, the score stood 42-21 in favor of the home team.
"Some of it, you have to credit to Vanderbilt," McDevitt said. "There aren't a lot of driving lanes and not a lot of room to get easy post catches when you've got 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-7 on the perimeter … they're just really big and long."
While the team struggled overall in the first half, one player stood out for Middle Tennessee.
Junior Reggie Scurry missed just one of his six field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, pouring in 11 of the team's 21 points before the break and grabbing five rebounds.
He had three points in the second half to end with 14 and seven boards.
Scurry hadn't reached double-figure scoring in the last three outings after starting the season with five straight games at 10 or more.
"I just told myself that my team needs me," he said. "They look at me like a leader, so I have to make sure I show up every game and just be consistent."
Middle Tennessee's offensive output proved to be more efficient in the second half, to the tune of 40 percent shooting and only six turnovers. The deficit proved too wide, though.
The improvement offensively came on the back of team leading scorer Antonio Green.
The junior had only two points in the first half but was aggressive coming out of the locker room, pouring in 16 of his team-high 18 after halftime. He was 6 of 16 from the field.
Green is now at 997 career points, 823 of which came in two years at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
"It wasn't my night early on," he said. "I didn't try to force anything – they did a good job. I just tried to let the game come to me and not force."
Middle Tennessee will have a quick turnaround with Murray State (4-1) and NBA Draft hopeful Ja Morant slated to travel to the Murphy Center on Saturday.
"We feel like we're getting better," Green said. "I feel like we're taking the right steps in the right direction.
"We can't get down on ourselves … that's the good thing about basketball, you have more games to play."
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.
With a 79-51 loss, the Blue Raiders (3-6) snapped their three-game winning streak over their Nashville neighbor Commodores (6-2). It was Middle Tennessee's first defeat at Memorial Coliseum since the 2012 season, stopping a run of back-to-back wins at the historic venue.
"Congrats to Vandy, their team, their coaches," Raiders head coach Nick McDevitt said. "I thought our team played really well in spurts. It was kind of two- and three-minute spurts that really hurt us tonight."
It was a tough night offensively for the blue-clad men, and the troubles started from the tip.
Just over 11 minutes in, MT held a shooting percentage of 16.7 percent (2-12) and had six turnovers, allowing Vanderbilt to build a 16-6 lead.
At halftime, the score stood 42-21 in favor of the home team.
"Some of it, you have to credit to Vanderbilt," McDevitt said. "There aren't a lot of driving lanes and not a lot of room to get easy post catches when you've got 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-7 on the perimeter … they're just really big and long."
While the team struggled overall in the first half, one player stood out for Middle Tennessee.
Junior Reggie Scurry missed just one of his six field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, pouring in 11 of the team's 21 points before the break and grabbing five rebounds.
He had three points in the second half to end with 14 and seven boards.
Scurry hadn't reached double-figure scoring in the last three outings after starting the season with five straight games at 10 or more.
"I just told myself that my team needs me," he said. "They look at me like a leader, so I have to make sure I show up every game and just be consistent."
Middle Tennessee's offensive output proved to be more efficient in the second half, to the tune of 40 percent shooting and only six turnovers. The deficit proved too wide, though.
The improvement offensively came on the back of team leading scorer Antonio Green.
The junior had only two points in the first half but was aggressive coming out of the locker room, pouring in 16 of his team-high 18 after halftime. He was 6 of 16 from the field.
Green is now at 997 career points, 823 of which came in two years at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
"It wasn't my night early on," he said. "I didn't try to force anything – they did a good job. I just tried to let the game come to me and not force."
Middle Tennessee will have a quick turnaround with Murray State (4-1) and NBA Draft hopeful Ja Morant slated to travel to the Murphy Center on Saturday.
"We feel like we're getting better," Green said. "I feel like we're taking the right steps in the right direction.
"We can't get down on ourselves … that's the good thing about basketball, you have more games to play."
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
