Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 1
Murfreesboro, TN
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-71,00 CUSA
73
vs
61
UT Martin
3-5,0-0OVC
1
2
F
UT Martin
27
34
61
Middle Tenn.
34
39
73
Team Stats
UTM
MTSU
FG%
.406
.448
3FG%
.182
.364
FT%
.625
.813
RB
35
37
TO
13
13
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Blue Raiders Take Care of Business at Home vs UT Martin
12/1/2021 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eli Lawrence led all scorers with 19 points
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball took the lead into the locker room at halftime and never relinquished it, comfortably easing past UT Martin 73-61 at the Murphy Center on Wednesday night.
Eli Lawrence continued his hot start to his 2021-22 season, scoring 19 points while hauling in five rebounds and nabbing two steals. Donovan Sims held things down in the backcourt for MT, scoring 15 points, including a dagger step-back three to ice the game last in the second half, while leading the team with seven rebounds.
"Once we get a couple of stops together as a team, the floor opens up for me," Lawrence said of his offensive prowess. "I'm just always aggressive, always in attack mode when I'm on the floor."
The Middle Tennessee (7-1) defense showed up once again on Wednesday, holding the Skyhawks to just 4-of-22 shooting from beyond the arc, and while forcing UTM (3-4) into 13 turnovers with only seven assists.
MT's usual dominance in forcing turnovers and scoring off of them was muted for their standards against UTM, only managing 11 points off of Skyhawk mistakes. But an elite production level from the bench (28 points by the MT reserves compared to just 13 for UT Martin's) gave the Blue Raiders a boost down the stretch.
"You've got to be able to win multiple styles of game, particularly in tournament play," McDevitt said. "It's not going to be the same style of game each night. You're going to have to beat a team that presses you, you're going to have to beat a team that really rebounds the basketball, or a team that tries to turn you over."
Five different Blue Raiders finished the night with at least six points, while three finished in double figures (Tyler Millin, with 11 points, making up the final player of that trio). All four MT reserves finished the night with a +/- of at least +13.
"You're going to have five guys that hear their name called out to start the game," McDevitt said. "But we've told the team for months that everyone is going to play a lot. When (the bench) came in there, they kind of as a group really gave us a boost. You look at the minutes, some of those guys played more minutes than the starters, or the same."
Middle Tennessee held a slight advantage on the boards, 37-35, in large part due to the success of their guards in cleaning up the glass. Sims, of course, led the team with seven rebounds, but Josh Jefferson and Camryn Weston each tied for second on the team with five boards.
"We've got guys down there like Eli and Tea, they go get in them in a different way, play way above the rim and snatch them from guys," Sims said of his team's rebounding efforts. "We've got guys like Dish and Fuss that are really focused more on boxing out the bigger defenders. And guys like me and Cam, when you play the 1 and 2 spot, usually guys get back, so we have free range to go clean those boards up, and that's kind of what we did tonight."
The Blue Raiders took a 34-27 lead into the locker room at halftime, powered by 13 points from Eli Lawrence. Camryn Weston had four of MT's seven assists off the bench. Over 50 percent of the Blue Raiders' buckets in the first half came off of assists from their teammates.
Tonight's win stretched MT's win streak to four games, its longest of the season, and continued the Blue Raiders' best start to the season since 2017-18, when they started the season 10-1.
MT will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to take on the Murray State Racers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
Game Notes
Eli Lawrence continued his hot start to his 2021-22 season, scoring 19 points while hauling in five rebounds and nabbing two steals. Donovan Sims held things down in the backcourt for MT, scoring 15 points, including a dagger step-back three to ice the game last in the second half, while leading the team with seven rebounds.
"Once we get a couple of stops together as a team, the floor opens up for me," Lawrence said of his offensive prowess. "I'm just always aggressive, always in attack mode when I'm on the floor."
The Middle Tennessee (7-1) defense showed up once again on Wednesday, holding the Skyhawks to just 4-of-22 shooting from beyond the arc, and while forcing UTM (3-4) into 13 turnovers with only seven assists.
MT's usual dominance in forcing turnovers and scoring off of them was muted for their standards against UTM, only managing 11 points off of Skyhawk mistakes. But an elite production level from the bench (28 points by the MT reserves compared to just 13 for UT Martin's) gave the Blue Raiders a boost down the stretch.
"You've got to be able to win multiple styles of game, particularly in tournament play," McDevitt said. "It's not going to be the same style of game each night. You're going to have to beat a team that presses you, you're going to have to beat a team that really rebounds the basketball, or a team that tries to turn you over."
Five different Blue Raiders finished the night with at least six points, while three finished in double figures (Tyler Millin, with 11 points, making up the final player of that trio). All four MT reserves finished the night with a +/- of at least +13.
"You're going to have five guys that hear their name called out to start the game," McDevitt said. "But we've told the team for months that everyone is going to play a lot. When (the bench) came in there, they kind of as a group really gave us a boost. You look at the minutes, some of those guys played more minutes than the starters, or the same."
Middle Tennessee held a slight advantage on the boards, 37-35, in large part due to the success of their guards in cleaning up the glass. Sims, of course, led the team with seven rebounds, but Josh Jefferson and Camryn Weston each tied for second on the team with five boards.
"We've got guys down there like Eli and Tea, they go get in them in a different way, play way above the rim and snatch them from guys," Sims said of his team's rebounding efforts. "We've got guys like Dish and Fuss that are really focused more on boxing out the bigger defenders. And guys like me and Cam, when you play the 1 and 2 spot, usually guys get back, so we have free range to go clean those boards up, and that's kind of what we did tonight."
The Blue Raiders took a 34-27 lead into the locker room at halftime, powered by 13 points from Eli Lawrence. Camryn Weston had four of MT's seven assists off the bench. Over 50 percent of the Blue Raiders' buckets in the first half came off of assists from their teammates.
Tonight's win stretched MT's win streak to four games, its longest of the season, and continued the Blue Raiders' best start to the season since 2017-18, when they started the season 10-1.
MT will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to take on the Murray State Racers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
Game Notes
- At 7-1, Middle Tennessee has equaled its sixth-best one-loss start to a season in program history.
- The Blue Raiders improved to 24-10 all-time against UT Martin.
- Nick McDevitt ran his career record as a head coach to .500 at 129-129.
- Lawrence's 19 points tied the second-highest single-game scoring output of his career
2025 MTSU Basketball tickets on sale now - October 1st
Wednesday, October 01
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
