Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, February 24
Murfreesboro, TN
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-217,123 CUSA
74
vs
65
Marshall
-1118,412 CUSA
1
2
F
Marshall
27
38
65
Middle Tenn.
24
50
74
Team Stats
Marsh
MTSU
FG%
.387
.345
3FG%
.273
.167
FT%
.917
.914
RB
38
39
TO
18
17
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Lenard’s Dunk, Lawrence’s defense help MT posterize Marshall, 74-65
2/24/2022 9:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Middle Tennessee made 32-of-35 free throws to ice the game.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Teafale Lenard told Christian Fussell to have his back.
With Middle Tennessee men's basketball holding onto a one-point lead in the second half, Lenard cut off the outlet pass at the midcourt line as Camryn Weston and Justin Bufford trapped David Early in the corner. With Fussell playing safety on the wing, the 6-foot-10 forward secured the cross-court desperation lob from Early, flipping the ball to Lenard to start the break.
"I told Fuss to have my back," Lenard said. "And I told JB to go,because I was going to have his. So that's what we did, and it worked out how I wanted to."
Lenard quickly distributed the ball to the streaking Bufford, who immediately bounced the ball back to Lenard at the C-USA logo in the paint.
"I didn't think he was going to dunk it," Eli Lawrence said. "But when I saw him take off, I already knew what time it was."
Lenard's thunderous posterization of Early set the tone in the second half, as Middle Tennessee defeated Marshall 74-65 in the Murphy Center on Thursday evening.
The Blue Raiders (21-7, 12-3 C-USA) struggled shooting from the field most of the night, but held the Thundering Herd (11-18, 4-12 C-USA) to a paltry 38.7 percent shooting percentage and 27.3 percent from three while turning Marshall over 18 times, while every player off the MT bench posted a +/- of at least +18.
"I was really proud of our team for that win and the way that we had to win the game," head coach Nick McDevitt said. "You don't always play your best. Offensively we were a little sloppy in the first half. In the second half, I thought we got going on both sides of the ball. It kind of had that tournament feel in the last seven or eight minutes of the game. It was a possession by possession (game)."
Eli Lawrence was one of the only Blue Raiders in a rhythm offensively most of the game, leading the team with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, all while guarding Marshall's leading scorer Taevion Kinsey most of the evening. Kinsey entered Thursday's contest averaging 19 points a game. He finished the night 4-14 from the field and only scored 10 points.
"About the second three I made at the top of the key in the first half. I was feeling good at that point," Lawrence said. "But I'm not really worried about that. We needed defense today, so that's what I had to bring."
The Blue Raiders cashed in on an undisciplined Thundering Herd squad, who were whistled for 23 fouls during the contest, sending MT to the line 35 times. Middle Tennessee drilled 32 of those free throws, with Donovan Sims (11-for-11), Lawrence (5-for-5), Josh Jefferson (5-for-5), Camryn Weston (2-for-2) and Lenard (1-for-1) all finishing the night with a perfect rate from the charity stripe. No Blue Raider missed more than one three throw.
"That was really good to see how our team was able to handle that down the stretch," McDevitt said. "When it was a single possession game, guy after guy just kept getting up there (and knocking them down)."
Middle Tennessee trailed by three at the half, facing a 27-24 deficit heading into the locker room thanks to shooting 32 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three while turning the ball over 10 times in the opening 20 minutes. The Blue Raiders were locked in defensively, turning Marshall over 12 times in the first half and holding the Herd under 40 percent from the field and to 25 percent from three.
The Blue Raiders made their move shortly after the Lenard dunk in the second half, the dunk highlighting a 19-2 run that put MT in the driver's seat late. Middle Tennessee made 26-of-27 second half free throws, including 10 in a row after Josh Jefferson took the lead for good with a clutch three pointer when the game was tied 61-61 after a late Herd comeback.
It was MT's 16th straight home win, the fourth longest streak in program history. Fourteen of those 16 wins have come in the 2021-22 season.
Middle Tennessee will look to complete the perfect home season this Saturday, when arch-rival Western Kentucky visits the Glass House. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Game Notes
With Middle Tennessee men's basketball holding onto a one-point lead in the second half, Lenard cut off the outlet pass at the midcourt line as Camryn Weston and Justin Bufford trapped David Early in the corner. With Fussell playing safety on the wing, the 6-foot-10 forward secured the cross-court desperation lob from Early, flipping the ball to Lenard to start the break.
"I told Fuss to have my back," Lenard said. "And I told JB to go,because I was going to have his. So that's what we did, and it worked out how I wanted to."
Lenard quickly distributed the ball to the streaking Bufford, who immediately bounced the ball back to Lenard at the C-USA logo in the paint.
"I didn't think he was going to dunk it," Eli Lawrence said. "But when I saw him take off, I already knew what time it was."
Hey... So... Uh... What's up @SportsCenter? 💥#BlueRaiders pic.twitter.com/FW0yIPaxm8
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) February 25, 2022
Lenard's thunderous posterization of Early set the tone in the second half, as Middle Tennessee defeated Marshall 74-65 in the Murphy Center on Thursday evening.
The Blue Raiders (21-7, 12-3 C-USA) struggled shooting from the field most of the night, but held the Thundering Herd (11-18, 4-12 C-USA) to a paltry 38.7 percent shooting percentage and 27.3 percent from three while turning Marshall over 18 times, while every player off the MT bench posted a +/- of at least +18.
"I was really proud of our team for that win and the way that we had to win the game," head coach Nick McDevitt said. "You don't always play your best. Offensively we were a little sloppy in the first half. In the second half, I thought we got going on both sides of the ball. It kind of had that tournament feel in the last seven or eight minutes of the game. It was a possession by possession (game)."
Eli Lawrence was one of the only Blue Raiders in a rhythm offensively most of the game, leading the team with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, all while guarding Marshall's leading scorer Taevion Kinsey most of the evening. Kinsey entered Thursday's contest averaging 19 points a game. He finished the night 4-14 from the field and only scored 10 points.
"About the second three I made at the top of the key in the first half. I was feeling good at that point," Lawrence said. "But I'm not really worried about that. We needed defense today, so that's what I had to bring."
The Blue Raiders cashed in on an undisciplined Thundering Herd squad, who were whistled for 23 fouls during the contest, sending MT to the line 35 times. Middle Tennessee drilled 32 of those free throws, with Donovan Sims (11-for-11), Lawrence (5-for-5), Josh Jefferson (5-for-5), Camryn Weston (2-for-2) and Lenard (1-for-1) all finishing the night with a perfect rate from the charity stripe. No Blue Raider missed more than one three throw.
"That was really good to see how our team was able to handle that down the stretch," McDevitt said. "When it was a single possession game, guy after guy just kept getting up there (and knocking them down)."
Middle Tennessee trailed by three at the half, facing a 27-24 deficit heading into the locker room thanks to shooting 32 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three while turning the ball over 10 times in the opening 20 minutes. The Blue Raiders were locked in defensively, turning Marshall over 12 times in the first half and holding the Herd under 40 percent from the field and to 25 percent from three.
The Blue Raiders made their move shortly after the Lenard dunk in the second half, the dunk highlighting a 19-2 run that put MT in the driver's seat late. Middle Tennessee made 26-of-27 second half free throws, including 10 in a row after Josh Jefferson took the lead for good with a clutch three pointer when the game was tied 61-61 after a late Herd comeback.
It was MT's 16th straight home win, the fourth longest streak in program history. Fourteen of those 16 wins have come in the 2021-22 season.
Middle Tennessee will look to complete the perfect home season this Saturday, when arch-rival Western Kentucky visits the Glass House. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Game Notes
- The Blue Raiders extended their home winning streak to 16 straight games, the longest active streak in the conference and fourth-longest in program history.
- Middle Tennessee has assured itself no wore than a tie for first place in the Conference USA East Division. A win Saturday over WKU would secure the top spot in the division outright.
- Donovan Sims' 11-for-11 performance from the charity stripe was the second-highest perfect free throw total by a Blue Raider this year behind Josh Jefferson
- The Blue Raiders' 32 made free throws were a season high.
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
