Blue Raiders roar back to push past Aggies, 76-69

Thursday, February 15

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6:30 PM

Middle Tennessee

10-15,4-6CUSA

New Mexico State

11-14,5-5CUSA

New Mexico St.

Middle Tenn.

2/15/2024 10:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MTSU trailed by as many as 17 points on Thursday, but caught fire in the second half to pick up another CUSA win

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball took an early punch to the face on Thursday night, trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half against New Mexico State, but found a way to close out, roaring back to take the lead in the second half and pull away for a thrilling 76-69 victory in the Murphy Center.

The Blue Raiders (10-15, 4-6 CUSA) struggled to get momentum in the first half, allowing the Aggies (11-14, 5-5 CUSA) to shoot nearly 60 percent from the field (16-for-27, 59.3 percent) in the first 20 minutes as NMSU found success both in getting pull-up jumpers and post-up shots to fall while outrebounding MTSU 19-11. The Blue Raiders had little success of their own offensively, heading into the locker room cold from the floor (10-for-28, 35.7 percent) and even colder from outside (3-for-15, 20 percent on three-point attempts), trailing 38-24.

The second half saw a total reversal of MTSU's fortunes, however, as the Blue Raiders set the nets on fire, making 14-of-24 field goal attempts with a 6-for-12 clip from beyond the arc, all while adding 18 points at the charity stripe to score 52 points in the second half. The Aggies, meanwhile, missed every three they attempted in the second half, an 0-for-8 effort, while managing to shoot under 40 percent from the field overall, twice letting up 8-0 runs to the Blue Raiders in the frame.

Jestin Porter came alive in the second half, scoring 19 of his team-high 26 points in the second half, shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-5 for three in game's final 20 minutes. The point guard led the team with four assists and no turnovers, while also grabbing five rebounds. Jared Coleman-Jones scored 12 of his 16 points and grabbed all nine of his team-leading rebounds in the second half, holding Aggie big Kaosi Ezeagu to just two points in the second half after the center scored 11 in the first. Jacob Johnson (12 points, eight rebounds) and Tre Green (12 points, 6-for-6 from the free throw line) rounded out MTSU's double digit scorers on Thursday.

By the Numbers
6: 20-point games for Jestin Porter, five of which have come in CUSA play. Porter is tied for the lead for 20-point games in conference play with Western Kentucky's Don McHenry.

8-for-12: Tre Green's three-point shooting performance against the Aggies this season. The sophomore guard was 2-for-4 on Thursday after making 6-of-8 attempts on the road against NMSU earlier this season.

18: Bench points for MTSU on Thursday, walloping the Aggies in the category by 16 points. Green (12 points) and Jalen Jordan (6 points) accounted for all of the Blue Raider's offensive production off the pine.

Blue Raider Notes

Porter recorded his sixth 20-point game of the season and his fifth in Conference USA play. He is now averaging 18.1 points per game in league play.
The Blue Raiders have shot better than 80 percent from the free throw line four times in their last six games.
Jared Coleman-Jones' two made 3-pointers were a new career high.
Jacob Johnson's eight rebounds were his most as a Blue Raider.
Five of MTSU's 10 wins this season have come while holding the lead for less time than its opponents.

Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt
"I thought, not just the fact that we won, but kind of how we won just showed a lot of toughness from our group. We got down 17. You never want to do that anywhere, much less your own building. I just thought two things were happening in the first half. I thought they were making some tough shots and I thought we were missing some open threes. But at the same time, I thought they were the more physical, aggressive, tougher team. And I thought in the second half, I thought we were more aggressive. We got to the free throw line, to the rim, started making some of those same open looks we were getting in the first half."

"I just thought it was one of those games where they guys that were supposed to be good at something were good at something. (Coleman-Jones) is supposed to be a physical post player. He gets 16 and nine. Justin Bufford, you've got to be a good defender. Well, you've got a great plus minus even though didn't score. JP, you've got to be a good point guard. He scored the ball and didn't turn it over. Same with this guy here (Tre Green). He continues to guard really good players on the other side of the ball, goes 2-for-4 from three, six-for-six from the free throw line. He's a defender and a shooter. That's just what it takes. You've got to be good at what you're supposed to be good at in order to win games.

Player's Perspective – Jestin Porter
On attacking NMSU's aggressive hedge deep in the backcourt

"We talked about it before the game in the prep before the game. I know just to attack the big coming off the hedge to get either (Jared Coleman-Jones) open or the fill-behind would be open. I was hitting the fill-behind a lot. The fill-behind can just hit him. We were just playing out of that."

Up Next
MTSU wraps up a two-game home stand against the Western Front of Conference USA, taking on UTEP on Saturday in the Murphy Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network.

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