Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
7-2,0-0CUSA
Rhodes College
3-6,0-0SAA
Middle Tennessee snags a win in midweek tilt with Rhodes College
12/4/2024 9:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee continued its hot start to improve to 7-2 on the season with a win over visiting Rhodes College (3-6) 103-55. Tonight was the first time since 2019 that the Blue Raiders have hit 100 on the scoreboard, last doing it against Maryville College on November 5, 2019.
Middle Tennessee saw two of its better offensive performances of the night come off the bench, with Chris Loofe and Torey Alston leading the charge. Loofe, a Leander, Texas, native, dropped in 13 points, coming just a week after his career-high of 15 points against Bradley at the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Alston had a career high in points with 12 and his 11 rebounds were enough to net him his second double-double of the season.
Rhodes jumped out to an early lead but was quickly overwhelmed by a Blue Raider team that was active on the defensive end, leading to several transition baskets as part of an 18-2 run that spanned just under the 12-minute mark in the half to the media timeout that took place with 7:30 to go. To that point, Middle Tennessee had accumulated six steals, including two each from Essam Mostafa and Kamari Lands. Those steals led to eight fastbreak points and a total of 10 points off turnovers.
Middle Tennessee took a 54-26 lead into the locker room. Both Chris Loofe and Torey Alston were already in double-digits in points with 11 and 10, respectively, and a trio of Blue Raiders that included Jestin Porter, Cam Weston and Mostafa contributed eight points in the first half. As a team, Middle Tennessee finished the first half with nine steals, led by Porter with three.
In the second half, Middle Tennessee kept its foot on the gas pedal, as the Blue Raiders finished the game with five total players with 10 or more points. That list includes: Mostafa with 14, Porter with 13, Weston with 14, Loofe with 13 and Alston with 12. The Blue Raiders finished the game shooting 56% from the field and set a new team-high for field goals made in a game this season with 39.
Alec Oglesby made his Blue Raider debut Wednesday evening. The Georgia native saw action in 17 minutes and had six points with two rebounds and a team-high three steals. Jarred Hall saw his first points as a Blue Raider tonight, finishing with eight points. A total of 13 different Blue Raiders got themselves on the scoreboard. Aside from the aforementioned players, Kamari Lands, Justin Bufford, Tre Green, Jacob Johnson, Christian Fussell and Jack Jubenville all notched at least two points.
By the Numbers:
4: With tonight's win, Middle Tennessee has won four of its last five games.
14: Steals tonight by Middle Tennessee, a new team high for a game this season.
5: Blue Raiders finished in double-figures in scoring.
44: Career double-doubles for Essam Mostafa, who wears number 44 for Middle Tennessee. The big man had 14 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
McDevitt's Mic:
"One of the things we talked about over the course of the game was not to get sloppy," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Nick McDevitt. "What we didn't want to do was half a second half that had
bad habits to work out of heading into Belmont on Saturday. I thought Torey Alston had a highlight-reel dunk, but he was diving for a loose ball with a sizeable lead and made an unselfish play to get the ball to Jacob Johnson after a steal for a dunk. Johnson really changed the game with his energy. In his minutes, we won by 35 points. He plays hard and brings a ton of energy. Tonight, was a game sandwiched in between two really tough ones. We don't want to overlook our opponents. We came out after the first segment and played the way we were supposed to. Nobody played over 22 minutes and we were able to get guys like Alec Oglesby and Jarred Hall out there, who are guys we will need going forward."
Player's Perspective: Redshirt Freshman Torey Alston
"Today was mostly about staying true to who I was," Alston said. "It doesn't matter who you are playing, you have to play hard and play your game. Talking with the coaches, I felt like one of my roles was to come off the bench and bring energy at all times. Coach McDevitt talks about how I can make highlight plays, but if I don't play hard, I won't be in the game to make the highlight plays. I just try to play hard for my teammates, no matter what."
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