Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Miami, FL
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
4-15, 0-6
69
at
83
FIU
13-6, 4-2
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
35
34
69
FIU
44
39
83
Team Stats
MT
FIU
FG%
.379
.415
3FG%
.280
.393
FT%
.667
.783
RB
41
40
TO
15
13
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Raiders outrun by Panthers, 83-69
1/18/2020 8:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MIAMI, Fla. – Warm Miami weather and sunny skies weren't enough to break the Blue Raiders out of their slump Saturday evening, as FIU protected its home court inside Ocean Bank Convocation Center with an 83-69 win.
Junior C.J. Jones led the way on offense with a 24-point outburst, his eighth 20-point effort of the season, and was joined in double figures by Antonio Green (16), Reggie Scurry (10) and Jayce Johnson (10).
Middle Tennessee led FIU 7-6 at the first media timeout of the evening, but it didn't take long for the full-court press of the Panthers to fluster the Blue Raiders.
The Panthers reeled off an 11-0 run out of the first breather to quickly open up a 10-point advantage just more than five minutes in before Scurry broke up the streak with an emphatic slam dunk.
Riding a hot 3-point shooting night at Florida Atlantic (56.0%), the Raiders would use the long ball to keep the Panthers close early as Green's second triple of the night pulled MT back within five just inside the 10-minute mark.
However, after an 8 for 13 start with a 3 for 6 mark from three, the Blue Raiders shooting touch went cold for a five minute stretch that saw FIU open up a 39-25 lead.
Green, running the point as Donovan Sims sat on the bench with two fouls, willed his team back into the contest in the final stretch of the first half. The senior leader created plays for himself or his teammates nearly every trip down the floor as MT climbed back within single digits at halftime, trailing 44-35.
With only two points to his name in the first half, Scurry came out of the locker room looking to make a difference in the second frame and scored the first five Blue Raider points to get his team going.
Behind Scurry's energy, Middle Tennessee closed the gap to four at 49-45 two and a half minutes in with five more points from Jones and Sims.
As the Panthers settled into the second half, however, they turned on a 9-0 run over just a minute of game time and soon after opened their biggest lead of the game at 68-50.
The Blue Raiders would attempt to hang around and make it a game, but were unable to capitalize on chances at the rim or free themselves up for the 3-point attempts they desperately needed to close the gap in Miami.
In the end, the Panthers were able to slow down their tempo that ranks among the fastest in the nation to wear down the clock and send the Blue Raiders back to Murfreesboro with a loss despite a 15-3 MT run to close the game out.
"We played their style of play too much tonight to be able to get the win," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "They're really good at playing a very fast pace and when they speed you up they can be really hard to beat."
"Because of some early foul trouble, we had to play a lot of inexperienced guys out there together tonight. That group did play well together for stretches, but FIU's press sped us up and forced us into some bad shots at times, and that's an area we're still working to improve in."
Middle Tennessee returns to action on Thursday as LA Tech comes to town for a 6:30 p.m. tip inside Murphy Center.
Junior C.J. Jones led the way on offense with a 24-point outburst, his eighth 20-point effort of the season, and was joined in double figures by Antonio Green (16), Reggie Scurry (10) and Jayce Johnson (10).
Middle Tennessee led FIU 7-6 at the first media timeout of the evening, but it didn't take long for the full-court press of the Panthers to fluster the Blue Raiders.
The Panthers reeled off an 11-0 run out of the first breather to quickly open up a 10-point advantage just more than five minutes in before Scurry broke up the streak with an emphatic slam dunk.
Riding a hot 3-point shooting night at Florida Atlantic (56.0%), the Raiders would use the long ball to keep the Panthers close early as Green's second triple of the night pulled MT back within five just inside the 10-minute mark.
However, after an 8 for 13 start with a 3 for 6 mark from three, the Blue Raiders shooting touch went cold for a five minute stretch that saw FIU open up a 39-25 lead.
Green, running the point as Donovan Sims sat on the bench with two fouls, willed his team back into the contest in the final stretch of the first half. The senior leader created plays for himself or his teammates nearly every trip down the floor as MT climbed back within single digits at halftime, trailing 44-35.
With only two points to his name in the first half, Scurry came out of the locker room looking to make a difference in the second frame and scored the first five Blue Raider points to get his team going.
Behind Scurry's energy, Middle Tennessee closed the gap to four at 49-45 two and a half minutes in with five more points from Jones and Sims.
As the Panthers settled into the second half, however, they turned on a 9-0 run over just a minute of game time and soon after opened their biggest lead of the game at 68-50.
The Blue Raiders would attempt to hang around and make it a game, but were unable to capitalize on chances at the rim or free themselves up for the 3-point attempts they desperately needed to close the gap in Miami.
In the end, the Panthers were able to slow down their tempo that ranks among the fastest in the nation to wear down the clock and send the Blue Raiders back to Murfreesboro with a loss despite a 15-3 MT run to close the game out.
"We played their style of play too much tonight to be able to get the win," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "They're really good at playing a very fast pace and when they speed you up they can be really hard to beat."
"Because of some early foul trouble, we had to play a lot of inexperienced guys out there together tonight. That group did play well together for stretches, but FIU's press sped us up and forced us into some bad shots at times, and that's an area we're still working to improve in."
Middle Tennessee returns to action on Thursday as LA Tech comes to town for a 6:30 p.m. tip inside Murphy Center.
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
