Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
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Shorthanded Blue Raiders see win streak come to an end
3/2/2022 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE – Middle Tennessee's eight-game win streak ended Wednesday in a 60-56 decision at Charlotte. Camryn Weston led the Blue Raiders with 16 points off the bench, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor.
For the first time all season, Middle Tennessee played without leading scorer Josh Jefferson, who had scored 30 points against the 49ers when the two teams met on Super Bowl Sunday. MT shot 37 percent (10-for-27) from 3-point range while holding Charlotte to just 3-for-20 shooting the same distance for the game.
But the difference in the game came at the free throw line. The home team reached the charity stripe 22 times with 19 makes, while MT was 8-for-10 from the line. Charlotte forced the Blue Raiders to make 15 turnovers while committing just nine of their own and gathered 11 offensive rebounds to MT's eight.
"When you're playing a game on the road without your leading scorer and a leader like Josh is, you just have to play better than we did," head coach Nick McDevitt said, "particularly the control of the ball and the effort plays have to go in your favor. I didn't think we played lackadaisical or without effort. I just thought Charlotte played just a little harder than we did."
The Blue Raiders cut the deficit to two points on Donovan Sims' 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation, but Jahmir Young, the No. 2 scorer in Conference USA, knocked down both free throws after a purposeful MT foul to build enough of a cushion to hold off Middle Tennessee.
Strong shooting kept the Blue Raiders in the game in the first half, as the visitors made six of their first 12 attempts from 3-point range while building a lead as large as six. Conversely, Charlotte made just one of 10 long-distance attempts in the first 20 minutes. Weston sparked an early MT run, singlehandedly going on a 7-0 run to take his team from a 9-3 deficit to a 10-9 lead in the middle of the first.
However, the Blue Raiders went 0-4 from deep in the final 2:32 of the opening period, opening the door for the 49ers to go on an 8-0 run and take a two-point lead just before intermission.
Eli Lawrence (13) and Sims (10) joined Weston in scoring in double digits Wednesday. Lawrence scored 11 of his points in the first half, going 3-for-5 from long distance in the opening period. Sims scored all 10 of his points after halftime, shooting 3-for-4 from 3-point land in the final 20 minutes.
DeAndre Dishman's eight rebounds and three assists led Middle Tennessee. Lawrence added six boards of his own.
Teafale Lenard, Jr. recorded his 40th block of the season, tying Perrin Buford's 2015-16 total for 10th-most by a Blue Raider in a single season.
MT was held under 60 points for just the third time this season. Wednesday's game was just the Blue Raiders' third-ever loss to Charlotte in a series that dates back to 1987.
Middle Tennessee concludes the regular season Saturday at Old Dominion. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
