Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
-51,00 CUSA
Mercer
2-4,0-0SoCon
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Blue Raiders claim Mayan Division title at Cancun Challenge
11/24/2021 4:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cancun, Mexico – Middle Tennessee (5-1) went wire-to-wire in an 82-58 victory Wednesday over Mercer (2-4) in the championship game of the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Six Blue Raiders scored in double figures as MT never trailed in the game.
"We played hard," head coach Nick McDevitt said. "We played well, but we played hard. I didn't think their shots affected our defensive effort, and we rebounded the ball well... Mercer is really good. The final score isn't indicative of what the game was, but to win like that, you've got to play really, really good, and I thought we did."
Eli Lawrence was named MVP of the Mayan Division, scoring a team-high 13 points in Wednesday's tournament finale. Josh Jefferson (13), Donovan Sims (13) DeAndre Dishman (12) and Justin Bufford (11) joined Lawrence in double figures. Dishman added 11 rebounds for the first double-double of the season by a Blue Raider. He earned All-Tournament honors for his efforts.
As on Tuesday, the Blue Raiders started the first half strong. The difference Wednesday was that MT sustained its early-game momentum. Middle Tennessee more than doubled Mercer's output over the first 16-plus minutes, building its lead to 34-16 by the under-4:00 media timeout.
Justin Bufford sparked the first half surge, leading the way with 11 points – more than any single-game total in his NCAA career – on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor.
Mercer put together a short run of its own, outscoring the Blue Raiders 11-4 over the final 3:57 of the first half, but MT withstood the push to take a 38-27 lead to the locker room.
"Watching [this team], they're not just a bunch of guys wearing the same jersey," McDevitt said. "They say the right things to each other. They approach every day the right way. They really like being around each other."
The Blue Raiders came back out of the locker room on fire, shooting a blistering 61.5 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes to put the game on ice. MT made six of 12 3-point attempts in the second half to help stretch the lead.
Just as intense was the Middle Tennessee defensive effort. MT's calling card thus far has been forcing opponents to turn the ball over, but Wednesday it shut down the Bears by contesting shots and securing rebounds, finishing with a 42-25 advantage on the glass.
Game Notes
- - The Blue Raiders earned their first regular season tournament title since the 2016 Challenge in Music City.
- - MT had six players in double figures for the first time since first time since February 18, 2017, at Marshall
- - Dishman's double-double was the third of his career and his first as a Blue Raider
- - Middle Tennessee's 42 rebounds were a season-high
- - Teafale Lenard's three blocked shots were the most by a Blue Raider this year
