Porter leads Blue Raiders to a road victory over Abilene Christian, 79-56

Saturday, November 9

Abilene, TX

6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

2-0,0-0CUSA

Abilene Christian

1-1,0-0WAC

Middle Tenn.

Abilene Christian

11/9/2024 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Logan Hasselbach

ABILENE, Texas – In its first road game of the season, Middle Tennessee men's basketball showed no signs of slowing down, defeating Abilene Christian 79-56 Saturday night in Abilene. Despite a slow start in the first half, the Blue Raiders charged forward, with four players tallying double-digit points.

Jestin Porter continued to stun in the second game of the season, once again putting up more than 20 points. Topping his previous season-best of 20, the senior tallied 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting along with four made free throws. He also snatched four steals, matching his career-best previously set against LA Tech March 13, 2024. His two-consecutive 20-point games are the first back-to-back since Porter did it on February 15 and 17, 2024.

Right behind him in scoring was Jlynn Counter, scoring 15 points for his most in a Blue Raider jersey. He shot 5-for-8 from the field and earned a team-leading three assists to go with two rebounds. Joining in on the double-digit scoring was Essam Mostafa and Camryn Weston, who both ended at 14 points.

As a team, the Blue Raiders shot 51.7 percent from the field, their second consecutive game shooting at 50 percent or higher. They saw a slight dip in three-point shooting but still went 6-for-17 from deep for 35.3 percent. The team greatly improved its free throw shooting, knocking down 11 of the 14 allotted for 78.6 percent.

Middle Tennessee dominated just about every aspect of the game, grabbing 35 boards compared to Abilene's 31. They also won the turnover game, turning the ball over 15 times to the Wildcats' 19 and scored 24 points off those turnovers. The defense continuously applied pressure on the Cats, especially in the second half, forcing ACU to go 0-8 from deep for a combined 14.3 three-point percentage and a 38.8 field goal percentage.

By the Numbers
13: the best scoring run the Blue Raiders went on, going 13-0 at the 11 minute mark in the first half.
4: Blue Raiders scoring in double digits, the second time this season multiple players have tallied 10+ points.
23: The largest margin of victory in a road game for Middle Tennessee since January 21, 2017.
14: The amount of steals Middle Tennessee grabbed, four more than previously done in the home opener

McDevitt's Mic
"I was really proud of our team. I thought we handled getting off to a poor start well, I really think we handled that adversity well. I also think we handled the success well. Our three guards (Jlynn Counter, Camryn Weston, Jestin Porter) looked really good playing together and we're going to need more of that. It was truly just an overall team effort."