Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
"I like to stay on the court" - Rebounding focus key in tight win over Lipscomb
12/21/2024 10:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Essam Mostafa passed 1,000 career rebounds in a tight game marked by MTSU's dominance on the glass on both ends of the court.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball coach Nick McDevitt can rattle off the numbers off the top of his head. After a summer emphasis on rebounding the basketball, his team had waned in their focus through the month of December.
There were 20 offensive rebounds the Blazers of UAB snagged in MTSU's 76-69 win on the road at the start of the month. Then, the Belmont Bruins grabbed 19 off the offensive glass in their two-point win later that week. Sandwiched in between? MTSU gave up 11 offensive rebounds to a Rhodes College team that, no knock on the Division-III Lynx, MTSU was the much more athletically gifted and taller team.
"We had several games where we weren't very aggressive on the offensive glass and were giving up too many on the other end," McDevitt said.
On Thursday night in the Murphy Center, that focus on the offensive glass was found once again, as MTSU hauled in 19 offensive rebounds and limited Lipscomb to just three on their end of the court to help the Blue Raiders to a 67-65 win over the Bisons in the program's final non-conference home game of the 2024-25 season.
The Blue Raiders, who outrebounded the Bisons 47-29 overall on Thursday, knew that while the Bisons had several ways to beat you offensively (particularly forward Jacob Ognacevic, who finished the night with 32 points), offensive rebounding was not a focus for the Nashville team. That presented an opportunity for MTSU to clean up on the defensive glass, while also setting the tone for physical play on the other end of the court.
"You can't give up 10 to a team that doesn't try to get a ton," McDevitt said. "If you do that, they're good offensively and now you're going to have to guard them again."
The 19 offensive rebounds, six of which came from forward Essam Mostafa, resulted in 17 second chance points for MTSU, who beat the Bisons by 11 points in that stat. On a night where the Blue Raiders struggled at times shooting from the field, finishing the night shooting under 40 percent from the floor and under 30 percent from three, the extra possessions helped MTSU take advantage of their strong defense on their other end, holding the Bisons over 10 points below their season average.
Mostafa, who passed over 1,000 career rebounds on Thursday during his three-school career, said that rebounding was what got him on the court initially at the college level.
"I'm an undersized big," Mostafa said. "To play (as a) 6-8, 6-9 big man, you have to figure out something to do very well to stay on the court. I like to stay on the court. The only thing I can do is rebound. I challenged myself to go get the rebound, it doesn't matter offensively, defensively, I just go grab it."
The rebounding wasn't just an effort from the Blue Raider bigs (Chris Loofe also excelled, grabbing four rebounds in just 10 minutes on the court). Four guards finished the night with at least four boards, led by eight from Jestin Porter.
"My coach got on me more, telling me I need to rebound more and track the ball down, so that's what I did," Porter said.
There were 20 offensive rebounds the Blazers of UAB snagged in MTSU's 76-69 win on the road at the start of the month. Then, the Belmont Bruins grabbed 19 off the offensive glass in their two-point win later that week. Sandwiched in between? MTSU gave up 11 offensive rebounds to a Rhodes College team that, no knock on the Division-III Lynx, MTSU was the much more athletically gifted and taller team.
"We had several games where we weren't very aggressive on the offensive glass and were giving up too many on the other end," McDevitt said.
On Thursday night in the Murphy Center, that focus on the offensive glass was found once again, as MTSU hauled in 19 offensive rebounds and limited Lipscomb to just three on their end of the court to help the Blue Raiders to a 67-65 win over the Bisons in the program's final non-conference home game of the 2024-25 season.
The Blue Raiders, who outrebounded the Bisons 47-29 overall on Thursday, knew that while the Bisons had several ways to beat you offensively (particularly forward Jacob Ognacevic, who finished the night with 32 points), offensive rebounding was not a focus for the Nashville team. That presented an opportunity for MTSU to clean up on the defensive glass, while also setting the tone for physical play on the other end of the court.
"You can't give up 10 to a team that doesn't try to get a ton," McDevitt said. "If you do that, they're good offensively and now you're going to have to guard them again."
The 19 offensive rebounds, six of which came from forward Essam Mostafa, resulted in 17 second chance points for MTSU, who beat the Bisons by 11 points in that stat. On a night where the Blue Raiders struggled at times shooting from the field, finishing the night shooting under 40 percent from the floor and under 30 percent from three, the extra possessions helped MTSU take advantage of their strong defense on their other end, holding the Bisons over 10 points below their season average.
Mostafa, who passed over 1,000 career rebounds on Thursday during his three-school career, said that rebounding was what got him on the court initially at the college level.
"I'm an undersized big," Mostafa said. "To play (as a) 6-8, 6-9 big man, you have to figure out something to do very well to stay on the court. I like to stay on the court. The only thing I can do is rebound. I challenged myself to go get the rebound, it doesn't matter offensively, defensively, I just go grab it."
The rebounding wasn't just an effort from the Blue Raider bigs (Chris Loofe also excelled, grabbing four rebounds in just 10 minutes on the court). Four guards finished the night with at least four boards, led by eight from Jestin Porter.
"My coach got on me more, telling me I need to rebound more and track the ball down, so that's what I did," Porter said.
Players Mentioned
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