Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, February 8
Lynchburg, Va.
6 PM
Middle Tennessee
8-15,2-6CUSA
53
at
88
Liberty
15-9,4-5CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tenn.
31
22
53
Liberty
40
48
88
Blue Raiders fall at Liberty
2/8/2024 8:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va., — Liberty led wire to wire Thursday in an 88-53 victory over Middle Tennessee at Liberty Arena. Elias King led the Blue Raiders with 19 points.
The Flames (15-9, 4-5 Conference USA) jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back. The Blue Raiders' (8-15, 2-6) best run was a 7-0 spurt starting with eight minutes left in the game.
Liberty shot 56 percent from the floor and 54 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, MTSU shot36 percent from the field with a 30 percent clip from long range.
King was 7-for-9 from the floor, including 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. He and Jared Coleman-Jones tied for the team lead with five rebounds.
By the Numbers
6: Justin Bufford has six blocks in his last two games.
30: Liberty won the points in the paint battle by 30 points, 56-26.
Blue Raider Notes
"We didn't get any stops in our first four possessions [of the second half]… We didn't make any shots. We didn't defend very well in the second half at all. We had breakdowns on the simpler switches and ended up with two guys on the ball, and they got layups. You can't do that when you're struggling to score."
Up Next
MTSU concludes its road trip Saturday at FIU Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (//MTMensBasketball), Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).
The Flames (15-9, 4-5 Conference USA) jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back. The Blue Raiders' (8-15, 2-6) best run was a 7-0 spurt starting with eight minutes left in the game.
Liberty shot 56 percent from the floor and 54 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, MTSU shot36 percent from the field with a 30 percent clip from long range.
King was 7-for-9 from the floor, including 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. He and Jared Coleman-Jones tied for the team lead with five rebounds.
By the Numbers
6: Justin Bufford has six blocks in his last two games.
30: Liberty won the points in the paint battle by 30 points, 56-26.
Blue Raider Notes
- King is tied for 10th in career 3-pointers made at MTSU with 137 after making three on Thursday.
- The game was the first matchup between the two schools on the hardwood.
- King is shooting 47 percent (14-for-30) from 3-point range over his last four games.
"We didn't get any stops in our first four possessions [of the second half]… We didn't make any shots. We didn't defend very well in the second half at all. We had breakdowns on the simpler switches and ended up with two guys on the ball, and they got layups. You can't do that when you're struggling to score."
Up Next
MTSU concludes its road trip Saturday at FIU Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (//MTMensBasketball), Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).
Team Stats
MTSU
Lib
FG%
.362
.565
3FG%
.300
.538
FT%
.385
.647
RB
28
41
TO
11
7
STL
4
2
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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