Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 1
San Antonio, TX
3:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-617,28 CUSA
83
at
80
UTSA
-1013,46 CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
48
35
83
UTSA
36
44
80
Team Stats
MT
UTSA
FG%
.433
.500
3FG%
.452
.391
FT%
.739
.682
RB
36
34
TO
13
12
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
2
Pts
27
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
9
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
Raiders outlast Roadrunners in San Antonio shootout
2/1/2020 6:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball had a tall task at hand Saturday afternoon trying to slow down the nation's highest scoring duo, but stole the show in San Antonio with a high-scoring duo of their own delivering an 83-80 win at UTSA.
Junior C.J. Jones and freshman Eli Lawrence each poured in a career-high 27 points to combine for 54 of MT's 83, matching the output of UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson (32) and Keaton Wallace (22) inside their own building.
"We locked in at practice yesterday and we knew that Wallace and Jackson were going to be looking to score it in bunches," Lawrence said. "We just had to stop them when we could and match them with good offense on the other end when we couldn't."
Jackson and Wallace entered the contest averaging 26.0 and 18.4 points, respectively, while Jones' 16 per game leads the Blue Raiders. Lawrence erupted over his 5.9 ppg average and had matched his previous career best of 19 by halftime to help the MT offense put up a big number.
"Eli really lifted us tonight with his energy," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "He made a lot of shots, didn't have really any breakdowns on the defensive end, and he was just getting it done everywhere for us."
The Roadrunners jumped out to an 11-2 lead less than four minutes in, but the Blue Raiders weathered the storm and would soon begin to erupt on the offensive end.
Coming off a career outing at UTEP, Jo'Vontae Millner subbed in and knocked down a pair of triples before fellow reserve Lawrence would give MT its first lead, 18-16, with his second triple of the afternoon.
While Middle Tennessee would not give the lead back for the remainder of the rest of the first half, UTSA would keep it close up until the final media timeout was approaching.
With his team down 32-28 and frustrated with the officiating, Roadrunner Head Coach Steve Henson was called for a technical foul. Jones knocked down the pair of freebies, sparking a 16-5 run over a span of three and a half minutes that put Middle Tennessee on top by 15 with 1:02 on the first half clock.
Lawrence and Jones fueled the entire run with eight points apiece that brought them to 19 and 17, respectively, in the half, the former of which matched a career-high in just 12 minutes of game time.
UTSA went on to hold the Raiders without a field goal in the final minute while knocking down three free throws to send the teams into the locker room with MT holding a 48-36 advantage.
The Roadrunners came out of the locker room looking to cut back into the Blue Raider lead, and did just that as a 3-pointer on the first possession brought them back within single digits.
After a couple of empty possessions each way, Jones answered with an old-fashioned 3-point play on the break to put the Blue Raiders over the 50-point mark.
Not long after, the Roadrunners fast-paced, hot-shooting offense flipped the switch with a 9-0 run that took less than a minute closing the gap all the way down to two points at 55-53.
"UTSA is a jump-shooting team and they can really throw it in the bucket," McDevitt stated. "We told our team at halftime that no lead is safe against that team and those guards and it wasn't."
The Blue Raiders needed a spark, and got just that as first half heroes Lawrence and Jones went back to work with 11 of 13 points in a 13-0 run quickly stretching the MT lead back out to 15.
The two teams continued to trade blows, but with calls starting to go the Roadrunners' way they slowly but surely clawed their way back into the game.
Finally, an 8-0 run as the game clock ticked under two minutes to go saw the contest knotted up at 78, the first tie since the scoreboard read 18-18 at 10:55 in the first half.
With the game on the line, the Blue Raiders struggled at the free throw line but locked down on defense to keep UTSA from taking the lead back for the first time in 30 minutes of action.
MT split on a pair of trips to the free throw line to get back on top, 80-78, before an offensive rebound and putback on the other end tied it up once again.
Only 15 seconds remained, though, and the Blue Raiders had a chance to win it on the last possession.
McDevitt got Jones the shot he wanted but C.J. couldn't get it to fall, however, a shooting foul on the attempt from deep sent MT's top free throw shooter to the line with a chance to give his team the lead with 2.8 seconds to go.
Jones knocked down all three and UTSA would look to get one more chance to send it to overtime, but the defensive pressure by the Blue Raiders wouldn't allow the Roadrunners to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded to escape the Convocation Center with a big road win.
"That was a really good win for our team," McDevitt added. "I thought we were locked in really for a majority of the game and our guys really deserved to get this one."
In addition to his 27 points, Lawrence finished with six rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist. Millner was the third double-digit score for the Blue Raiders with 10 on the afternoon while Tyson Jackson corralled a team-high eight rebounds.
Having won two of their last three around a one-point loss at UTEP, the Blue Raiders now look to continue building momentum as they return home to host first place North Texas and last place Rice in Murphy Center.
Junior C.J. Jones and freshman Eli Lawrence each poured in a career-high 27 points to combine for 54 of MT's 83, matching the output of UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson (32) and Keaton Wallace (22) inside their own building.
"We locked in at practice yesterday and we knew that Wallace and Jackson were going to be looking to score it in bunches," Lawrence said. "We just had to stop them when we could and match them with good offense on the other end when we couldn't."
Jackson and Wallace entered the contest averaging 26.0 and 18.4 points, respectively, while Jones' 16 per game leads the Blue Raiders. Lawrence erupted over his 5.9 ppg average and had matched his previous career best of 19 by halftime to help the MT offense put up a big number.
"Eli really lifted us tonight with his energy," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "He made a lot of shots, didn't have really any breakdowns on the defensive end, and he was just getting it done everywhere for us."
The Roadrunners jumped out to an 11-2 lead less than four minutes in, but the Blue Raiders weathered the storm and would soon begin to erupt on the offensive end.
Coming off a career outing at UTEP, Jo'Vontae Millner subbed in and knocked down a pair of triples before fellow reserve Lawrence would give MT its first lead, 18-16, with his second triple of the afternoon.
While Middle Tennessee would not give the lead back for the remainder of the rest of the first half, UTSA would keep it close up until the final media timeout was approaching.
With his team down 32-28 and frustrated with the officiating, Roadrunner Head Coach Steve Henson was called for a technical foul. Jones knocked down the pair of freebies, sparking a 16-5 run over a span of three and a half minutes that put Middle Tennessee on top by 15 with 1:02 on the first half clock.
Lawrence and Jones fueled the entire run with eight points apiece that brought them to 19 and 17, respectively, in the half, the former of which matched a career-high in just 12 minutes of game time.
UTSA went on to hold the Raiders without a field goal in the final minute while knocking down three free throws to send the teams into the locker room with MT holding a 48-36 advantage.
The Roadrunners came out of the locker room looking to cut back into the Blue Raider lead, and did just that as a 3-pointer on the first possession brought them back within single digits.
After a couple of empty possessions each way, Jones answered with an old-fashioned 3-point play on the break to put the Blue Raiders over the 50-point mark.
Not long after, the Roadrunners fast-paced, hot-shooting offense flipped the switch with a 9-0 run that took less than a minute closing the gap all the way down to two points at 55-53.
"UTSA is a jump-shooting team and they can really throw it in the bucket," McDevitt stated. "We told our team at halftime that no lead is safe against that team and those guards and it wasn't."
The Blue Raiders needed a spark, and got just that as first half heroes Lawrence and Jones went back to work with 11 of 13 points in a 13-0 run quickly stretching the MT lead back out to 15.
The two teams continued to trade blows, but with calls starting to go the Roadrunners' way they slowly but surely clawed their way back into the game.
Finally, an 8-0 run as the game clock ticked under two minutes to go saw the contest knotted up at 78, the first tie since the scoreboard read 18-18 at 10:55 in the first half.
With the game on the line, the Blue Raiders struggled at the free throw line but locked down on defense to keep UTSA from taking the lead back for the first time in 30 minutes of action.
MT split on a pair of trips to the free throw line to get back on top, 80-78, before an offensive rebound and putback on the other end tied it up once again.
Only 15 seconds remained, though, and the Blue Raiders had a chance to win it on the last possession.
McDevitt got Jones the shot he wanted but C.J. couldn't get it to fall, however, a shooting foul on the attempt from deep sent MT's top free throw shooter to the line with a chance to give his team the lead with 2.8 seconds to go.
Jones knocked down all three and UTSA would look to get one more chance to send it to overtime, but the defensive pressure by the Blue Raiders wouldn't allow the Roadrunners to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded to escape the Convocation Center with a big road win.
"That was a really good win for our team," McDevitt added. "I thought we were locked in really for a majority of the game and our guys really deserved to get this one."
In addition to his 27 points, Lawrence finished with six rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist. Millner was the third double-digit score for the Blue Raiders with 10 on the afternoon while Tyson Jackson corralled a team-high eight rebounds.
Having won two of their last three around a one-point loss at UTEP, the Blue Raiders now look to continue building momentum as they return home to host first place North Texas and last place Rice in 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
