Hot shooting second half Blue Raiders cruise past Milligan, 88-62

Saturday, November 18

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

5 PM

Middle Tennessee

3-1,0-0CUSA

Milligan

0-1

Milligan

Middle Tenn.

11/18/2023 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MTSU started the second half 7-for-9 beyond the arc.

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball caught fire from deep in the second half to cruise to victory on Saturday evening, easily dispatching NAIA foe Milligan 88-62in the Murphy Center.

The Blue Raiders (3-1) held just a five-point lead at halftime, a product of 13 turnovers on offense in the game's first 20 minutes. The Buffaloes (2-2) were able to capitalize with eight points off of those turnovers, many of them coming within their nine fast break points in the half. The second half started off much faster for MTSU, however, with the Blue Raiders draining 7-of-9 three pointers to start the half to quickly power their way to a lead into the 20s. MTSU also turned the ball over only five times in the second half, while dominating the boards with nine second half offensive rebounds, resulting in nine second chance points.

Four Blue Raiders finished the night in double digits scoring, led by a season-high 19 points from Elias King, who went 5-for-7 from three. Jestin Porter scored 17 points while dishing out four assists and nabbing four steals, posting the high plus/minus of any Blue Raider. Jared Coleman-Jone just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Jacob Johnson had 11 points and five boards. O'zhell Jackson made his MTSU debut, scoring four points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists.

By the Numbers

11: Straight wins over Milligan for MTSU, the first of which came on February 5, 1949. The Blue Raiders have won 11 straight after dropping their first two all-time games to the Buffaloes.

50.0: Percent shooting from the field for MTSU. The Blue Raiders went a perfectly balanced 32-for-64 from the floor on Saturday. MTSU went exactly 50 percent from the field one time last season, a 28-for-56 night on January 11, 2023 at Rice in a 71-68 win.

48: Points in the paint for the Blue Raiders.

Blue Raider Notes
- O'zhell Jackson made his NCAA debut Saturday.
- King's five 3-pointers made were a new career high.
- Jestin Porter set new career highs with seven made field goals and four steals. He tied career highs with three made 3-pointers and four assists
- Justin Bufford's four assists were a new career high
- Chris Loofe's nine points were the most of his young career.

Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt

"I was really happy with the win. We got our to a pretty good start at 19-9, I believe it was. I thought we got a little sloppy for the rest of the half. We ended up with 13 turnovers in the first half. Didn't shoot it particularly well from behind the arc to start the game. I was telling the guys at halftime: When the ball is not going in the basket, you can't combine that with lack of ball care. When you're not throwing everything in, you've got make sure you're making the other team really work on their offensive possessions. In the second half, I thought we did a nice job of taking care of the ball. Five turnovers, started making some shots we normally make.

Player's Perspective – Elias King

"Coach Nick, he pulled us in at halftime. The score was 30-25. He got on us and told us, 'Hey, get in the paint, look outside.' And that we did. We did a great job of it in the second half and it showed."

Up Next

The Blue Raiders will play one final home game before their Thanksgiving weekend trip to the Bahamas, taking on UAB on Tuesday, November 21. Tipoff in the Glass House is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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