Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Houston, TX
2:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-722,313 CUSA
66
at
77
Rice
-1415,610 CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
29
37
66
Rice
24
53
77
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
MT
RICE
FG%
.426
.520
3FG%
.292
.409
FT%
.684
.842
RB
29
31
TO
20
22
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Rice downs Raiders with second half outburst
3/1/2020 4:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON, Texas – Middle Tennessee men's basketball suffered a tough road loss in a must-win situation Sunday afternoon at the hands of Rice, falling 77-66 in Tudor Fieldhouse to end their hopes of competing the 2020 Conference USA Championship.
MT looked to be the better team for much of the first half, limiting an Owl squad that poured 91 on the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro to 24 points on just eight made field goals before the break.
After a 5-0 run to start the second half put the Raiders up 10, things turned drastically in Houston as Rice would win the final 18 minutes by a score of 53-32 to take control of the contest on their home floor.
"I thought we started out really well this afternoon," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "We were doing what we wanted to do, getting the ball inside for high percentage looks, and all of a sudden we just stopped guarding and got ourselves into foul trouble.
"When we had to start playing without some of our starters on the floor they took advantage of us and then when they took the lead we just started settling for too many outside shots."
Senior Reggie Scurry won the tip for the Blue Raiders, and after a turnover on the opening possession laid one in off the glass on the next trip down the floor to put MT on the scoreboard first.
It was sloppy early on in Houston, as the Raiders and Owls were trading more turnovers than they were baskets as neither team took more than a 4-point lead until MT went up 20-15 with a score by Jayce Johnson on the first possession out of the under eight media timeout.
Leading up to that basket, the teams had combined for 17 turnovers to just 12 made baskets with both sides of the box score showing more turnovers than field goals.
Johnson's first basket of the game sparked an 11-0 Blue Raider run that spanned 5:43 in which Rice attempted only three field goals while committing four turnovers.
After Middle Tennessee opened up its largest lead of the first half at 29-17, Rice came storming back with a 7-0 run over the final two and a half minutes of the opening half to send the teams into the locker room with the Raiders on top 29-24.
Scurry – who had perhaps his best career outing with 22 points and 12 rebounds at Rice last season – led all scorers with 11 points at half on 4 of 5 shooting with three makes in four tries at the charity stripe.
Middle Tennessee stretched it back to double figures with a pair of Millner free throws and a Donovan Sims triple from the corner to start the second half, but Rice would cut right back into it on their next two possessions.
With Rice down six as the first media of the second half approached, Sims joined Antonio Green on the bench with three fouls apiece.
Foul trouble on the starting guards left the Blue Raiders without a primary ball handler on the floor for nearly three minutes to spark a 21-4 run by the Owls.
With a 42-40 lead, their first in over 21 minutes of game time, the Owls then forced the Raiders into three consecutive turnovers and quickly put the Blue Raiders into a 0-point deficit at 49-40.
Fast forward two minutes, where Rice had opened up a 13-point advantage at 55-42, and Green would knock down a trifecta from the corner to stop the bleeding with MT's first field goal in over five and a half minutes.
C.J. Jones soon knocked down a triple of his own to cut the deficit back to single digits as MT found themselves down 56-48 with 6:47 remaining.
Rice refused to let the Blue Raiders climb back within two possessions, however, as debatable flagrant foul called on a Green block attempt followed soon after by an emphatic dunk by the Owls seemed to put the game out of reach at 68-50 with just under four minutes on the clock.
With all the momentum on their side, Rice continued to slice up the Blue Raider defense in the final minutes as they put it in cruise control to send the Blue Raiders back to Murfreesboro with a loss that would end their postseason hopes.
Scurry and Tyson Jackson led the way for MT, combining for 25 points and 11 rebounds while making 11 of their 15 field goal attempts in the post. Green pitched in 12 of his own in the contest while Jones dished out a career-high five assists.
Middle Tennessee will close out the season at home, hosting the UTEP Miners on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. before concluding the 2019-20 campaign Saturday against Southern Miss on Senior Day.
MT looked to be the better team for much of the first half, limiting an Owl squad that poured 91 on the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro to 24 points on just eight made field goals before the break.
After a 5-0 run to start the second half put the Raiders up 10, things turned drastically in Houston as Rice would win the final 18 minutes by a score of 53-32 to take control of the contest on their home floor.
"I thought we started out really well this afternoon," Head Coach Nick McDevitt said. "We were doing what we wanted to do, getting the ball inside for high percentage looks, and all of a sudden we just stopped guarding and got ourselves into foul trouble.
"When we had to start playing without some of our starters on the floor they took advantage of us and then when they took the lead we just started settling for too many outside shots."
Senior Reggie Scurry won the tip for the Blue Raiders, and after a turnover on the opening possession laid one in off the glass on the next trip down the floor to put MT on the scoreboard first.
It was sloppy early on in Houston, as the Raiders and Owls were trading more turnovers than they were baskets as neither team took more than a 4-point lead until MT went up 20-15 with a score by Jayce Johnson on the first possession out of the under eight media timeout.
Leading up to that basket, the teams had combined for 17 turnovers to just 12 made baskets with both sides of the box score showing more turnovers than field goals.
Johnson's first basket of the game sparked an 11-0 Blue Raider run that spanned 5:43 in which Rice attempted only three field goals while committing four turnovers.
After Middle Tennessee opened up its largest lead of the first half at 29-17, Rice came storming back with a 7-0 run over the final two and a half minutes of the opening half to send the teams into the locker room with the Raiders on top 29-24.
Scurry – who had perhaps his best career outing with 22 points and 12 rebounds at Rice last season – led all scorers with 11 points at half on 4 of 5 shooting with three makes in four tries at the charity stripe.
Middle Tennessee stretched it back to double figures with a pair of Millner free throws and a Donovan Sims triple from the corner to start the second half, but Rice would cut right back into it on their next two possessions.
With Rice down six as the first media of the second half approached, Sims joined Antonio Green on the bench with three fouls apiece.
Foul trouble on the starting guards left the Blue Raiders without a primary ball handler on the floor for nearly three minutes to spark a 21-4 run by the Owls.
With a 42-40 lead, their first in over 21 minutes of game time, the Owls then forced the Raiders into three consecutive turnovers and quickly put the Blue Raiders into a 0-point deficit at 49-40.
Fast forward two minutes, where Rice had opened up a 13-point advantage at 55-42, and Green would knock down a trifecta from the corner to stop the bleeding with MT's first field goal in over five and a half minutes.
C.J. Jones soon knocked down a triple of his own to cut the deficit back to single digits as MT found themselves down 56-48 with 6:47 remaining.
Rice refused to let the Blue Raiders climb back within two possessions, however, as debatable flagrant foul called on a Green block attempt followed soon after by an emphatic dunk by the Owls seemed to put the game out of reach at 68-50 with just under four minutes on the clock.
With all the momentum on their side, Rice continued to slice up the Blue Raider defense in the final minutes as they put it in cruise control to send the Blue Raiders back to Murfreesboro with a loss that would end their postseason hopes.
Scurry and Tyson Jackson led the way for MT, combining for 25 points and 11 rebounds while making 11 of their 15 field goal attempts in the post. Green pitched in 12 of his own in the contest while Jones dished out a career-high five assists.
Middle Tennessee will close out the season at home, hosting the UTEP Miners on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. before concluding the 2019-20 campaign Saturday against Southern Miss on Senior Day.
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
