Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, February 6
Murfreesboro, TN
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
-618,29 CUSA
70
vs
75
North Texas
-159,92 CUSA
1
2
F
North Texas
36
39
75
Middle Tennessee
29
41
70
Team Stats
UNT
MT
FG%
.519
.448
3FG%
.318
.286
FT%
.706
.583
RB
28
39
TO
9
13
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
Raiders’ comeback falls short against North Texas
2/6/2020 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Senior Antonio Green led Middle Tennessee on a furious late comeback Thursday in the Murphy Center, but the hole was simply too large to climb completely out of.
Green buried four straight 3-pointers to lead the Blue Raiders (6-18, 2-9) on a 13-0 run with just a few minutes remaining, but the Mean Green (15-9, 9-2) absorbed the punches and limped home with a 75-70 win.
"I thought we did a lot of good things out there," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said. "If you look at the stat sheet … there's a lot of positives there. But, the biggest one is the final score. That's the one that matters the most, and we came up on the short end."
North Texas went into the night tied with LA Tech atop the Conference USA standings, and it showed why for about three quarters of the game.
The methodical Mean Green offense that leads the league in field goal and three-point percentage went to work as its tough defense made things hard for MT on the other end.
The Blue Raiders fought to trail by just seven at the half, but it looked like North Texas was on the brink of putting things away 15 minutes later. As the clock ticked towards five minutes to play, the road team held a 63-50 advantage and seemingly all the momentum.
That's when Green caught fire.
He hadn't attempted a shot in the game until 5:19 left when he hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Then, after a technical foul free throw, he hit another from the top, then sunk one from the wing on the next possession.
His fourth and final make from distance with a hand in his face capped a 13-0 run and tied the ballgame with 3:31 remaining.
"I made one shot, and coach called another play and I made another one," Green said. "It just kind of happened on its own.
"I was just trying to trust the offense and not force stuff."
The Mean Green stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer of their own to get the lead back, and a layup with an and-one free throw with under a minute left seemed to be a dagger.
Middle Tennessee didn't have anything left for a final push.
Coming up just short was made even more frustrating considering the Blue Raiders were just 14 of 24 from the free-throw line and only turned 16 offensive rebounds into 17 points.
"We just missed some timely shots," McDevitt said. "I thought we were battling out there. … They're playing hard and playing the right way, and pretty soon the scoreboard will start to flip a little bit. At least, that's the idea."
Green finished with 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting, 4 of 5 from deep, all coming in the game's last 5:19. He was the only Blue Raider that made a shot from beyond the arc.
Fellow senior Reggie Scurry had 16 points and eight rebounds, six on the offensive end, and sophomore Jayce Johnson was a point and a rebound away from a double-double with nine and nine.
Middle Tennessee will try to grab a win Saturday when Rice travels to the Murphy Center.
"It's a quick turnaround, and [Rice] is playing well as of late," McDevitt said. "They're all big, but playing against a team that you're battling for position with makes it that much more important."
Green buried four straight 3-pointers to lead the Blue Raiders (6-18, 2-9) on a 13-0 run with just a few minutes remaining, but the Mean Green (15-9, 9-2) absorbed the punches and limped home with a 75-70 win.
"I thought we did a lot of good things out there," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said. "If you look at the stat sheet … there's a lot of positives there. But, the biggest one is the final score. That's the one that matters the most, and we came up on the short end."
North Texas went into the night tied with LA Tech atop the Conference USA standings, and it showed why for about three quarters of the game.
The methodical Mean Green offense that leads the league in field goal and three-point percentage went to work as its tough defense made things hard for MT on the other end.
The Blue Raiders fought to trail by just seven at the half, but it looked like North Texas was on the brink of putting things away 15 minutes later. As the clock ticked towards five minutes to play, the road team held a 63-50 advantage and seemingly all the momentum.
That's when Green caught fire.
He hadn't attempted a shot in the game until 5:19 left when he hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Then, after a technical foul free throw, he hit another from the top, then sunk one from the wing on the next possession.
His fourth and final make from distance with a hand in his face capped a 13-0 run and tied the ballgame with 3:31 remaining.
"I made one shot, and coach called another play and I made another one," Green said. "It just kind of happened on its own.
"I was just trying to trust the offense and not force stuff."
The Mean Green stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer of their own to get the lead back, and a layup with an and-one free throw with under a minute left seemed to be a dagger.
Middle Tennessee didn't have anything left for a final push.
Coming up just short was made even more frustrating considering the Blue Raiders were just 14 of 24 from the free-throw line and only turned 16 offensive rebounds into 17 points.
"We just missed some timely shots," McDevitt said. "I thought we were battling out there. … They're playing hard and playing the right way, and pretty soon the scoreboard will start to flip a little bit. At least, that's the idea."
Green finished with 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting, 4 of 5 from deep, all coming in the game's last 5:19. He was the only Blue Raider that made a shot from beyond the arc.
Fellow senior Reggie Scurry had 16 points and eight rebounds, six on the offensive end, and sophomore Jayce Johnson was a point and a rebound away from a double-double with nine and nine.
Middle Tennessee will try to grab a win Saturday when Rice travels to the Murphy Center.
"It's a quick turnaround, and [Rice] is playing well as of late," McDevitt said. "They're all big, but playing against a team that you're battling for position with makes it that much more important."
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
