Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
-31,00 CUSA
Stephen F. Austin
3-1,0-0WAC
Blue Raiders dealt first loss of season
11/19/2021 9:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Nacogdoches, Texas - Despite cutting a double-digit lead down to one in the second half, Middle Tennessee (3-1) never could get over the hump Friday in an 87-74 loss at Stephen F. Austin (3-1) in the opening round of the Cancun Challenge. Josh Jefferson led the way for the Blue Raiders with 23 points, including a 14-14 performance from the free throw line. Eli Lawrence added 18 points to go along with a game-high-tying seven rebounds.
"We just turned the ball over too much in order to win a road game," head coach Nick McDevitt said after his team committed more turnovers (21) than its opponent (19) for the first time this season. "I just thought, early, we looked a little frantic. This is the first time we've played a team with their defensive style, and I didn't think we handled that very well early in the game."
MT jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but seven turnovers in the first eight minutes put the road team at a disadvantage in the early going. Stephen F. Austin battled back from the early deficit, wearing out the Blue Raiders by pounding the ball inside. The Lumberjacks built a lead as large as 12 in the first half, largely on the strength of 12 points by Gavin Kensmil. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Kensmil scored 10 of his 12 first-half points in the paint.
The Blue Raiders began to battle back from that 32-20 deficit, going on a 13-7 run over nearly four minutes toward the end of the period, attacking the basket more and forcing the home team to defend the basket – 10 of the Blue Raiders' 13 points during that stretch came as a result of free throws and layups.
"I thought our team stuck together," McDevitt said. "We started having stretches where we were able to handle that pressure, and we got ourselves back into the ballgame... I thought down the stretch there were just a couple big plays that went their way and ended up costing us."
A 14-3 run over a stretch of more than five minutes early in the second half brought the visitors to within one at 49-48. Jefferson led the charge with five of those 13 points.
The Lumberjacks outscored the Blue Raiders 38-26 over the final 13 minutes, led by David Kachelries' 13 points. SFA was 10 of 15 from the floor, 4 of 4 from beyond the 3-point line and 14 of 18 from the free throw line during that time. In that same stretch, MT made 6 of 12 field goals, went 0 for 5 from long distance and 14-17 from the charity stripe.
Kensmil ended the game with 16 points, as Kachelries led the home squad with 19.
Middle Tennessee now heads south of the border to take on Rider and either Bucknell or Mercer in the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge next week.
Game Notes
- Jefferson has been Middle Tennessee's leading scorer in three of his first four games in a Blue Raider uniform
- Jefferson became the first Blue Raider to make 10 or more free throws in a game since Nick King at FGCU on December 2, 2017
- MT's 84 turnovers forced on the season are the most through the first four games of any of the least 20 seasons
- With 39 free throw attempts Friday, the Blue Raiders took more than 30 tries from the charity stripe for the first time since November 5, 2019
