Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
-2410,135 CUSA
California Baptist
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Blue Raiders overcome early surge to defeat CBU, advance to CBI quarterfinals
3/19/2022 8:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was a game of runs at the Ocean Center on Saturday. California Baptist jumped out to an early 15-5 lead before Middle Tennessee cut the lead to two with an 8-0 run.
Three ties and five lead changes later, the Blue Raiders erupted for a 16-0 run that gave them enough cushion to withstand a 12-0 push by the Lancers and come away with a 64-58 win in the first round of the 2022 Roman College Basketball Invitational.
"You could see they were playing with a fire in their belly, and we weren't," head coach Nick McDevitt said of the Lancers' hot start that prompted the coach to call a timeout before the under-4 media break. "Once we changed that, the numbers started to change, and the scoreboard started to change. You're not just going to blitz a team that's in postseason play. You've got to work methodically over a long period of time to come back when you're down 10-12 points, and I thought our guys never panicked."
After starting 2-for-10 from the floor, the Blue Raiders went 9-of-15 from the floor over the final 12-and-a-half minutes of the first half, ending the period facing just a one-point deficit.
The two teams traded baskets for the first three minutes of the second half before MT broke a 34-all tie with a 16-0 run, holding CBU scoreless for over eight minutes. The run featured five points by Elias King and four by Christian Fussell.
The Blue Raiders made seven of their first 13 field goal attempts in the second half to go along with four free throws in building their lead to 50-34. Conversely, the Lancers made just one of their first 13 tries from the field after halftime.
CBU battled back, holding MT scoreless for eight minutes while going on a 12-0 run of its own, but the Blue Raiders made seven of eight free throw attempts in the final two minutes to hold off the Lancers.
DeAndre Dishman led the Blue Raiders with 17 points – 10 of which came in the second half – six rebounds, and four assists. King, Donovan Sims and Camryn Weston finished with nine points each.
Middle Tennessee advances to Monday's quarterfinal round, where it awaits the winner of Sunday's game between UNC Greensboro and Boston University. The game will tip off a 5 p.m. Monday at the Ocean Center on FloHoops.
Game Notes
- The Blue Raiders improved to 10-15 all-time in postseason tournament games.
- MT's 24 wins are tied for the sixth-most in program history and set a new high mark for Nick McDevitt's career.
- King's nine points tied his season high, and his four rebounds set a new season high.
- Dishman tied a career high with seven free throws.
- The Blue Raiders have now held opponents to 60 points or fewer 14 times on the season, their most since doing so 14 times in the 2016-17 season.
