Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 5
Murfreesboro, TN
5:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
3-12, 0-2
56
vs
63
Florida Atlantic
10-5, 1-1
1
2
F
Florida Atlantic
25
38
63
Middle Tennessee
32
24
56
Team Stats
FAU
MT
FG%
.333
.451
3FG%
.174
.294
FT%
.789
.556
RB
38
39
TO
8
22
STL
8
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballLate run hands MT home loss to FAU
1/5/2019 8:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A late-game run doomed Middle Tennessee Saturday night.
The Blue Raiders (3-12, 0-2) welcomed Florida Atlantic (9-5, 1-1) to the Murphy Center and held a seven-point lead in the second half until a late Owls run nabbed a 63-56 victory.
"Really, it just came down to the turnovers we had and the overall possession count," Middle Tennessee head coach Nick McDevitt said. "That's just got to be corrected. That's my job, our job as a staff, a group and a program to start fixing that. We have to be better."
An Antonio Green 3-pointer on a MT fast break tied the score at 50 with 2:33 remaining, and it looked as if a nail-biter was in store.
It wouldn't come to be, though.
Florida Atlantic scored seven straight points over the next minute and a half to snatch the lead and the win as Middle Tennessee's offense went stagnant.
"We just didn't stay organized enough in our press offense to make them pay," McDevitt said. "We have to be able to fix that in order for some of the results to change going forward."
The ending came after a game full of defense.
Middle Tennessee did a good job on that end of the floor all night, holding FAU to 33.3 percent shooting on 22 of 66 and 10 points under its season average. The problem was the Blue Raiders' ability to hang on to the ball on the other end.
The blue and white were effective when they were able to get shots up, finishing with 45 percent shooting, but 22 turnovers led to 28 Owl points. A large amount came against a tough FAU full-court press.
"They did a good job, but I think it was more so us," Green said. "That's a situation that we just aren't really good at right now, and teams know that.
"Eventually, it just comes to us to do it. Sometimes it's just catching the basketball; that's not rocket science … we just have to calm down and get better."
The Raiders' turnover woes started in the first half.
They were able to build a 27-12 lead with 5:23 left until the break, but 13 miscues led to 14 FAU points that kept the Owls in the game.
Florida Atlantic was able to rattle off a 13-5 run to cut the lead to 32-25 at half, and the visitors came out of the locker room and continued the hot streak to grab a 36-33 lead with just under 14 minutes left in the game.
Middle Tennessee responded with a 13-3 run of its own over the next five minutes to snatch a seven-point advantage, but another Owl scoring streak, this time 11-1, put FAU up again heading into the final stretch of the contest.
"It was just about ball security," McDevitt said. "Even in the possessions where we missed shots, it was good basketball … but we just had too many empty possessions because of turnovers."
Green finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 4 of 9 from distance. Reggie Scurry was also in double figures with 13 to go with eight rebounds, and Donovan Sims had five points, five rebounds and a career-high-tying six assists.
The Blue Raiders will look for their first C-USA win of the season when they go on the road to Southern Miss on Jan. 10.
"We just have to stay together as a team," Scurry said. "We have to take care of our bodies, eat the right things and put the right things in our bodies."
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 Blue Raiders (3-12, 0-2) welcomed Florida Atlantic (9-5, 1-1) to the Murphy Center and held a seven-point lead in the second half until a late Owls run nabbed a 63-56 victory.
"Really, it just came down to the turnovers we had and the overall possession count," Middle Tennessee head coach Nick McDevitt said. "That's just got to be corrected. That's my job, our job as a staff, a group and a program to start fixing that. We have to be better."
An Antonio Green 3-pointer on a MT fast break tied the score at 50 with 2:33 remaining, and it looked as if a nail-biter was in store.
It wouldn't come to be, though.
Florida Atlantic scored seven straight points over the next minute and a half to snatch the lead and the win as Middle Tennessee's offense went stagnant.
"We just didn't stay organized enough in our press offense to make them pay," McDevitt said. "We have to be able to fix that in order for some of the results to change going forward."
The ending came after a game full of defense.
Middle Tennessee did a good job on that end of the floor all night, holding FAU to 33.3 percent shooting on 22 of 66 and 10 points under its season average. The problem was the Blue Raiders' ability to hang on to the ball on the other end.
The blue and white were effective when they were able to get shots up, finishing with 45 percent shooting, but 22 turnovers led to 28 Owl points. A large amount came against a tough FAU full-court press.
"They did a good job, but I think it was more so us," Green said. "That's a situation that we just aren't really good at right now, and teams know that.
"Eventually, it just comes to us to do it. Sometimes it's just catching the basketball; that's not rocket science … we just have to calm down and get better."
The Raiders' turnover woes started in the first half.
They were able to build a 27-12 lead with 5:23 left until the break, but 13 miscues led to 14 FAU points that kept the Owls in the game.
Florida Atlantic was able to rattle off a 13-5 run to cut the lead to 32-25 at half, and the visitors came out of the locker room and continued the hot streak to grab a 36-33 lead with just under 14 minutes left in the game.
Middle Tennessee responded with a 13-3 run of its own over the next five minutes to snatch a seven-point advantage, but another Owl scoring streak, this time 11-1, put FAU up again heading into the final stretch of the contest.
"It was just about ball security," McDevitt said. "Even in the possessions where we missed shots, it was good basketball … but we just had too many empty possessions because of turnovers."
Green finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 4 of 9 from distance. Reggie Scurry was also in double figures with 13 to go with eight rebounds, and Donovan Sims had five points, five rebounds and a career-high-tying six assists.
The Blue Raiders will look for their first C-USA win of the season when they go on the road to Southern Miss on Jan. 10.
"We just have to stay together as a team," Scurry said. "We have to take care of our bodies, eat the right things and put the right things in our bodies."
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.
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