MT comes up short against Chattanooga

Monday, December 7

Murfreesboro, TN

6:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

-13,00 CUSA

Chattanooga

4-0,0-0SoCon

Chattanooga

Middle Tennessee

12/7/2020 8:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee came up just short Monday in its quest to win back-to-back home games in five days against two of its oldest rivals.

The Blue Raiders (1-3) took down Murray State in its home opener Wednesday, then hosted undefeated Chattanooga (4-0) Sunday night at the Murphy Center.

A tough, hard-fought game went down to the last few minutes, with the Mocs taking an 80-70 win to push their all-time advantage in the series to 34-32.

"I was disappointed in our team's effort, our energy. … I thought from the get go to start the game, we were just lethargic," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said. "We were climbing an uphill battle most of the game."

Foul trouble in the second half hampered Middle Tennessee, and it proved to be a deciding factor in the game's outcome.

Chattanooga drew eight more fouls than the Blue Raiders and turned that into a 26-9 advantage in free throw attempts. Middle Tennessee made four of its nine shots at the charity stripe, while the Mocs finished 21 of 26.

All of the makes at the free-throw line allowed Chattanooga to score more points against MT than any other opponent so far this season. The Raiders went into the game giving up just 59.3 points per game.

"Defense has been our biggest thing, but we didn't bring it like we're capable of tonight," redshirt junior DeAndre Dishman said. "Our energy wasn't there. We go a lot off our defense, but we didn't bring the energy to get the stops. … We didn't guard well at all."

Despite trailing so much in the free-throw battle, the Blue Raiders battled thanks to their efficient shooting.

After hitting 36.6% of its shots in the first three games, including 28.6% of its 3-pointers, MT had its best shooting performance of the young season, hitting 29-of-58 field-goal attempts (50%) and 8-of-18 (44%) from 3-point range.

"I feel like the more we play, the more we'll trust each other and the more we'll find our groove offensively," redshirt junior Jalen Jordan said. "I just feel like it's still early. I wouldn't say we've figured everything out, but with a little more time with each other, we'll definitely click more."

The hot shooting kept the Blue Raiders within striking distance after they fell down 15-4 early in the first half. They quickly erased the deficit and even led by as many as four points but went into halftime trailing 44-39.

Middle Tennessee quickly snatched the lead back early in the second half, but Chattanooga made a 14-2 run in the middle of the half to build its own nine-point lead, and the Raiders couldn't recover.

Five Blue Raiders scored in double figures, Dishman leading the way with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with five rebounds and three steals. Redshirt senior Jo'Vontae Millner-Criss added 14 points off the bench, and he grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team.

Joining them in double-figure scoring was Jordan and redshirt junior Jordan Davis with 11 apiece and junior Dontrell Shuler with 10 off the bench. Jordan also had five rebounds and four assists in a good all-around showing, and Shuler led the team with five assists.

Middle Tennessee will continue its four-game homestand against Covenant College on Saturday, scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff from Murphy Center.

"We have to be better on the defensive end," McDevitt said. "Our team is built to be a good half-court defensive team that forces tough shots and plays in transition. … That's where our players really excel, and we have to get back to that."