Blue Raiders post largest comeback in the nation in 2022-23, get past Panthers

Saturday, February 18

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

5 PM

Middle Tennessee

-1711,107 CUSA

FIU

-1314,79 CUSA

FIU

Middle Tenn.

2/18/2023 9:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Trailing by as many as 24 points, MTSU managed three runs of 9-0 or better to get the win

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball went down for the count early, but climbed up and fought back with a vengeance, obliterating a deficit that was as high as 33-9 against FIU to win 69-58 on Saturday in the Murphy Center. The 24-point comeback was the largest comeback by any Division-I team against a Division I opponent in men's basketball this season.

The Blue Raiders (17-11, 10-7 C-USA) opened the game shooting just 3-for-17 at the under-8 media timeout in the first half, but settled in and grinded their way back, a renewed focus on defense cutting the Panthers' (13-14, 7-9 C-USA) 66.7 percent shooting percentage at that point in the game all the way down to 38.6 percent by the game's end.

Putting together at least three runs of 9-0 during their comeback, MTSU held FIU to 26.9 percent shooting in the second half, while attacking the glass, securing 43 rebounds to FIU's 35 to pick up easy buckets and get to the foul line 26 times. A pair of DeAndre Dishman free throws tied the game at 58-58 with 3:50 to play. A Teafale Lenard dunk in traffic would follow to put the Blue Raiders up for good, as a Justin Bufford contested jumper and a Jared Coleman-Jones dunk would put the game out of reach before MTSU made five of six free throws to ice the game.

Camryn Weston led the Blue Raiders with 14 points, seven of those points coming at the charity stripe. The point guard drew eight fouls from FIU on the night. Dishman (11 points, five rebounds, three steals) and Elias King (10 points, four rebounds, two blocks) were the only two other Blue Raiders in double figures. Coleman-Jones just missed out on a double-double, scoring nine points and hauling in a team-high nine rebounds. Eli Lawrence was close behind with nine points and eight boards.

By the Numbers

22: Points off Turnovers for MTSU, a 22-11 advantage in that category for the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Middle Tennessee turned FIU over 17 times in the game, 12 times in the second half, with nine of those 17 turnovers coming off of MTSU steals.

17: Points for FIU in the second half, the fewest points in a half MTSU has held an opponent to the entire 2022-23 season. The Panthers managed to shoot just 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from the field, including a 1-for-7 half beyond the arc. FIU only went to the line twice the entire second half.

19: Offensive rebounds for MTSU, 14 of which came in the second half. The offensive rebounding dominance led to 20 second chance points for MTSU.

Blue Raider Notes

The win was the 1,300^th in program history.
The Blue Raiders have now trailed by 16 or more and come back to tie or take the lead in four separate games.
Teafale Lenard, Jr. recorded his 11^th game with multiple blocks and multiple steals, by far the most in C-USA.

Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt

"With about eight to go during the timeout, we just talked about 'Hey, you're about to get run out of your own building if you don't wake up.' Our goal at that point was try to get it to 10 by half. We got it to 14 and at halftime, I just told our guys that we've got to make the run to start the second half. They can't be the team that goes on the 6, 7, 8-0 run. We've got to do it, try to get it down to seven, eight points by the under-16 media and make it a ball game.

"A lot of guys made some good plays. Anytime you're down 24, you've dug yourself a big hole. A lot of people are going to have to make plays and this guy beside me (Jared Coleman-Jones) continues to get better and made some big plays."

Player's Perspective – Justin Bufford

"If you don't have a team like how we have, a mature team, and the guys that we have and the love that we have for each other, you quit. You quit and you lose by 30 at home...We're not that team. In the locker room, there wasn't any panic. I went in and I told them that let's just stick together. We're going to make our run and we did at the end of the first half. I knew then we was going to be good, so we just had keep just stacking, just keep stacking. Our run was going to come, we're going to get the stops.

"So, I already knew, this team, we are built to last. We love each other, and that's all that matters. When we love each other, you'll do anything, that's why we play so hard for one another."

Up Next

Middle Tennessee will celebrate Senior Night in its final home game of the season, taking on LA Tech next Saturday in the Murphy Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network.

Follow the Blue Raiders

Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (//MTMensBasketball), Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).