Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 26
Denton, TX
5:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
53
at
70
North Texas
1
2
F
Middle Tenn.
19
34
53
North Texas
42
28
70
Team Stats
M-419
M-497
FG%
.314
.397
3FG%
.286
.172
FT%
.682
.652
RB
38
45
TO
20
13
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
Slow start haunts Raiders at North Texas
1/26/2019 7:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, Texas – It was a tale of two halves in the Super Pit Saturday night as the Blue Raiders struggled into a large deficit at halftime before showing heart and fight after the break to outscore North Texas in the second half, but fell 70-53 to the Mean Green in the end.
Middle Tennessee got on the board first in Denton with a Reggie Scurry jump hook on the first trip down the court putting his team up 2-0.
The Blue Raiders couldn't get hardly anything going offensively after that, however, limping into halftime with just a 5-for-27 mark from the field (.185) and only 1-of-12 3-point attempts made (.083).
With poor shooting hampering them from the opening tip, foul trouble didn't help matters as MT's starters at the three, four and five positions – Jayce Johnson, Reggie Scurry and Karl Gamble – as well as reserve post man James Hawthorne each picked up their second fouls before halftime.
The foul problems allowed North Texas, usually a strong shooting team from outside at 36.6 percent from beyond the arc on the season, to take advantage on the inside with an 18-6 advantage in paint scoring.
"I thought the first 10 minutes we were pretty good," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "It was about 18-10 and we weren't hitting any shots but we were defending them pretty well.
"The last two segments of the first half we got ourselves in trouble with fouls, bad shots and turnovers and that gave (North Texas) some easy opportunities."
Down 23 at halftime after matching their season low of 19 points in a half, Middle Tennessee needed a spark to make it competitive, but despite improvements on offense the Blue Raiders failed to slow a Mean Green offense that boasts six players averaging double digits on the season enough to climb back in it.
MT shot a much improved 45.8 percent (11 of 24) in the second half with a 5-for-9 (.556) mark from downtown, three of which came in the final five-plus minutes to close the gap from its largest amount of 27.
The offensive efficiency in the second frame also allowed the Raiders to get back down the floor and set on defense to slow UNT and win the scoring battle after half, 34-28. MT held the Mean Green to 29.4 percent (10 of 34) from the field and 12.5 percent (2 of 16) from three.
"That's a good sign for our team," McDevitt added. "There's no quit in our guys. The shooting percentage was 46 percent in the second half because the ball was moving on offense and going inside out. With Reggie out in the first half we got no paint touches but with him back in after halftime that changed things for us."
Despite playing only 20 minutes due to foul trouble, Scurry led the way for MT with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Augusta, Ga., native continues to post one of the best field goal percentages in Conference USA, currently shooting 64.3 percent in league play.
Middle Tennessee returns home on Wednesday for the front end of a home and home series with UAB and will make the return trip to the Blazers on Saturday. Wednesday night's contest is set to tip at 6:30 p.m.
Middle Tennessee got on the board first in Denton with a Reggie Scurry jump hook on the first trip down the court putting his team up 2-0.
The Blue Raiders couldn't get hardly anything going offensively after that, however, limping into halftime with just a 5-for-27 mark from the field (.185) and only 1-of-12 3-point attempts made (.083).
With poor shooting hampering them from the opening tip, foul trouble didn't help matters as MT's starters at the three, four and five positions – Jayce Johnson, Reggie Scurry and Karl Gamble – as well as reserve post man James Hawthorne each picked up their second fouls before halftime.
The foul problems allowed North Texas, usually a strong shooting team from outside at 36.6 percent from beyond the arc on the season, to take advantage on the inside with an 18-6 advantage in paint scoring.
"I thought the first 10 minutes we were pretty good," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "It was about 18-10 and we weren't hitting any shots but we were defending them pretty well.
"The last two segments of the first half we got ourselves in trouble with fouls, bad shots and turnovers and that gave (North Texas) some easy opportunities."
Down 23 at halftime after matching their season low of 19 points in a half, Middle Tennessee needed a spark to make it competitive, but despite improvements on offense the Blue Raiders failed to slow a Mean Green offense that boasts six players averaging double digits on the season enough to climb back in it.
MT shot a much improved 45.8 percent (11 of 24) in the second half with a 5-for-9 (.556) mark from downtown, three of which came in the final five-plus minutes to close the gap from its largest amount of 27.
The offensive efficiency in the second frame also allowed the Raiders to get back down the floor and set on defense to slow UNT and win the scoring battle after half, 34-28. MT held the Mean Green to 29.4 percent (10 of 34) from the field and 12.5 percent (2 of 16) from three.
"That's a good sign for our team," McDevitt added. "There's no quit in our guys. The shooting percentage was 46 percent in the second half because the ball was moving on offense and going inside out. With Reggie out in the first half we got no paint touches but with him back in after halftime that changed things for us."
Despite playing only 20 minutes due to foul trouble, Scurry led the way for MT with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Augusta, Ga., native continues to post one of the best field goal percentages in Conference USA, currently shooting 64.3 percent in league play.
Middle Tennessee returns home on Wednesday for the front end of a home and home series with UAB and will make the return trip to the Blazers on Saturday. Wednesday night's contest is set to tip at 6:30 p.m.
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
