Middle eight minutes come back to bite Blue Raiders against Mean Green

Saturday, January 7

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

5 PM

Middle Tennessee

-97,23 CUSA

North Texas

-133,41 CUSA

North Texas

Middle Tenn.

1/7/2023 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

UNT outscored MTSU 15-4 in the last four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second half

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A lightning quick start turned into a rock fight of a second half, as Middle Tennessee men's basketball fell to North Texas 56-51 on Saturday night at the Murphy Center.

The Blue Raiders (9-7, 2-3 C-USA) led by as many as 19 points in the first half, not missing a shot until the 13:38 mark of the framed, capped off by a run as long as 11-0 at one point. The Mean Green (13-3, 4-1 C-USA) countered late in the half, however, ending the game's first 20 minutes on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to just 37-31 at the break. MTSU scored 20 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes, utilizing both strong play inside and slithery guard drives to get to the bucket.

The second half was a much slower, as North Texas imposed its will on both ends of the court. The two teams combined for 22 second-half turnovers, 13 of those coming from the Blue Raiders, allowing North Texas to retake the lead late and force a back-and-forth finish. After a missed free throw gave MTSU a chance to tie the game down three with under a minute left, a final turnover at the top of key gave UNT an easy layup on the break and iced the game.

DeAndre Dishman did great work for the Blue Raiders in the paint, scoring seven of his 13 points in the first half, finishing the game 5-for-7 from the field. Eli Lawrence was the only other Blue Raider in double figures with 11 points, five of them coming on a perfect night at the free throw line. Camryn Weston and TreVon Smith held UNT's Tylor Perry well under his season average of 17.9 ppg, as Perry managed just 11 points on Saturday.

By the Numbers

10 v 5: Second chance points for UNT and MTSU, respectively. The Mean Green secured seven offensive rebounds on Saturday, compared to just four for the Blue Raiders. UNT outrebounded MTSU 28-22 overall.

24-for-28: The combined night at the free throw for both teams, with each team missing two attempts at the charity stripe. The two teams each started the night 11-for-11 before shooting 50 percent across their last six attempts at the end of the game.

26 v 26: Points in the paint for MTSU and UNT, respectively. The Blue Raiders had doubled up the Mean Green in the paint, 20 points to 10, at halftime, but the return of Abou Ousmane, who missed most of the first half due to foul trouble, and his three second-half blocks kept the Blue Raiders from finding easy baskets at the rim in the game's final 20 minutes.

Blue Raider Notes

MTSU entered the game having won 13 straight C-USA home games
Eli Lawrence is shooting .517 (30-58) from the floor in his last six games, averaging 14.7 points per game in that span.
North Texas' .263 3-point percentage was its fourth-lowest of the year.

Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt

"As I told our team, I was proud of our efforts, disappointed in the result. Both teams played hard, didn't drop their head. You know you're going to have a game like that any time you play North Texas. With Tylor Perry in the lineup, they've only given up more than 60 one time this year. They're used to playing in the 40s and 50s.

"(Dishman) was terrific early, we really made some hay when Ousmane was out with foul trouble in the first half. The biggest four-five minute stretch of the game though was the last three or four minutes of the first half, we had a 15-point lead and they finished on a 9-0 run to cut it to six at the half.

"We knew they would make a run, but it was quicker than what you want with a team that plays so slow. Pace of play, there's 363 teams in the country, they're dead last, No. 363. It's not going to be an 80s to 70s game. When a team plays that methodical, if they're going to make a run, that needs to be over 12 to 15 minutes off the clock, and it was off of about five or six."

Player's Perspective – DeAndre Dishman

"It's still early. It's good that we had these games early. Late down the stretch, it will be really important knowing what to do and how to react and just being able to experience the situation. I think we can use it for nothing but growth. I think we played a lot better from our last game.

"I think we've got to grow from it and use it down the stretch. There will be more games that are just like this. If you look in the conference, there are plenty of games that are two-points and three-points, so it's very important."

Up Next

Middle Tennessee will hit the road once again in Conference USA play, taking on Rice in Houston on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network.

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