Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Jacksonville State
Blue Raiders lead wire-to-wire to pick up first CUSA win
1/24/2024 9:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
It’s MTSU’s fourth straight win against Jacksonville State, dating back to the January 3, 1940
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee's men's basketball scored the first bucket of the night 16 seconds into the game on a Jacob Johnson layup and never looked back on Wednesday night in the Murphy Center, never trailing visiting Jacksonville State in a 75-67 win in Conference USA play.
A pair of 10-0 runs bookended the first half for MTSU (7-13, 1-4 CUSA), who held a 35-23 at the break. The Blue Raiders were buoyed by a 6-for-10 half beyond the arc, led by Jestin Porter (2-for-2) and Elias King (4-for-5), while holding Jax State (10-10, 2-3 CUSA) to just nine field goals in the first half (9-for-27, 33.3 percent).
The Gamecocks found better success shooting in the second half, managing to make 50 percent of their shots from the floor (17-for-34), at one point cutting the Blue Raiders' lead to just six points. But the Blue Raiders found enough momentum offensively, scoring 14 of their 40 second half points in the paint and additional 13 points at the charity stripe to cruise to the program's first CUSA win of the season in the closing minutes.
Jestin Porter led all scorers with 30 points on Wednesday, followed closely by Elias King's 23 points. Jared Coleman-Hones led MTSU in rebounds (8), assists (4) and blocks (3) while scoring eight points of his own, including a 4-for-4 night at the free throw line.
Jacob Johnson, Tre Green and Justin Bufford were lockdown defenders against Jax State's leading scorer, KyKy Tandy. Conference USA's leading scorer entered Wednesday's game averaging 19 points a game. The Blue Raiders held Tandy to just 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting and a 1-for-5 night from three, forcing three turnovers from the guard.
By the Numbers
30: Points for Jestin Porter on Wednesday night, a career high for the junior guard. The Houston, Texas native shot 10-for-18 from the field and, tying his career-high with four made threes with 4-for-6 night from beyond the arc.
21: Seconds Elias King did not play on Wednesday night. The senior forward was in the game for 39:39 of the game's 40 minutes, leading MTSU in plus/minus with a +13, scoring 23 points with six rebounds and two blocks.
3: Blocks for Jared Coleman-Jones. The junior forward now has multiple blocked shots in three straight games and four out of the last five games.
Blue Raider Notes
- The Blue Raiders' 12-point halftime was their largest of the year against a Division I team.
- MTSU had three players with multiple blocked shots for the first time since February 18, 2023.
- Coleman-Jones has blocked multiple shots in four straight games and five of his last six.
- Porter is the first Blue Raider with 30 points in a game since Josh Jefferson on February 13, 2022 against Charlotte.
- King and Porter are the first pair of Blue Raiders with 20-plus points in the same game since February 9, 2023.
- Porter has 20-plus points in four of his last eight games.
- Coleman-Jones is shooting .938 (15-for-16) from the free throw line in CUSA play.
Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt
"I'm really proud of our guys. It's good to get a win here tonight at home. Really appreciate the students. You could see them and hear them, really appreciate them being here. All of the fans, but the students in particular.
"I thought our guys of the last couple of weeks have really started to turn the corner a little bit. It just wasn't showing in the results. Happy for them to get one in the left-hand column. I thought our start was really important. But it was fueled by the defensive end of the floor. We started out with six straight stops and we finished the first half with six straight stops."
Player's Perspective – Elias King
"All week, me and JP, we were looking at the 0-4 that was on our board. (McDevitt) has the records put up. And we looked at the 0-4 every day. That's no exaggeration. We knew coming into this one, we literally said it was a must win and that was it."
Up Next
MTSU completes their two-game homestand in CUSA play on Saturday, taking on FIU in the Murphy Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network
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