Davis leads MT past Covenant

Saturday, December 12

Murfreesboro, TN

4:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

-23,00 CUSA

Covenant (GA) College

3-1,0-0USA Sout

Team	1	2	F
Covenant	22	35	57
Middle Tennessee	35	41	76

12/12/2020 6:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Redshirt junior Jordan Davis stepped up when Middle Tennessee needed a spark to get a win Saturday.

The Blue Raiders (2-3) watched what was at one time an 18-point lead over Covenant College (3-1) dip to nine early in the second half. That's when Davis took over, scoring 10 of his game-high 22 points in the last 12 minutes of the contest to lead MT to a 76-57 win.

"[Davis] is a great player for us and had a really good all-around game," Middle Tennessee head coach Nick McDevitt said. "We were able to respond coming out of a timeout … and that response was really good by our team. We needed every bit of it.

"It as a good team win for us tonight."

As has been the case in just about every game this season, the Blue Raiders suffered a few stretches in the game where they struggled to get shots to fall.

They started by hitting just one of their first eight shots before finding a better shooting touch in the first half, then suffered a 0-for-7 stretch over a little more than three minutes early in the second half.

Covenant cut MT's lead to 48-39 with 12:01 left in the second half when Davis took control of the offense. He scored eight of the Raiders' next nine points to help the blue and white go on a 12-2 run and essentially put the game out of reach.

"Big leads are hard to keep, and we knew they were going to make a run," Davis said. "Donovan [Sims] gave me a pass for a 3-pointer that I hit, and that just got us going.

"We just need to use this momentum from tonight going into our game Wednesday. … We'll just prepare and keep working hard."

The Blue Raiders had a noticeable size advantage over the Scots, and they used it to their advantage, especially on the defensive end.

Middle Tennessee won the rebounding battle 53-31, including a 21-5 advantage in offensive rebounds, which led to 16 second-chance points for MT. It also came up with 10 steals, and its 17 turnovers forced led to 21 points.

Davis, who tied a career best with nine made field goals (9-17) added seven rebounds and a career-high five steals to his ledger, while junior Dontrell Shuler was the other Raider in double-figures with 16 points, including a perfect 9-for-9 night from the free-throw line.

Ole Miss, led by former MT head coach Kermit Davis, will travel to Murfreesboro Dec. 16 in the finale of the Blue Raiders' four-game homestand. It will be the first time back at the Murphy Center for Davis, the program's all-time winningest coach.

"I really wish we could pack it and make a raucous environment," McDevitt said. "There are a lot of negative effects of COVID-19, and that certainly is one for our athletic department, our basketball team, our program and this community. This basketball program has meant a lot to Murfreesboro for a long time, and so has Kermit Davis. … I hate the fact that he's not going to be able to have a big crowd in here to watch us take the floor Wednesday night."