Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
2 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
18-9,9-5CUSA
74
vs
70
Sam Houston
11-17,4-11CUSA
1
2
F
Sam Houston
31
39
70
Middle Tenn.
39
35
74
Team Stats
SHSU
MTSU
FG%
.481
.448
3FG%
.632
.435
FT%
.615
.706
RB
28
36
TO
14
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Men’s Basketball nabs 74-70 win over Sam Houston to sweep season series
2/22/2025 4:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Jlynn Counter, Jestin Porter and Camryn Weston have been the household names that have often led Middle Tennessee (18-9, 9-5 CUSA) on the offensive end of the floor. Following a tough loss Thursday night, the Blue Raider faithful were looking to one of those names to lead the team to a win over Sam Houston (11-17, 4-11 CUSA) on Saturday afternoon. Though that fantastic guard trio certainly contributed, it was the always-ready reserve guard Tre Green, who had a season-high 17 points and a season-high five three pointers to help the Blue Raiders to a 74-70 win.
The Blue Raider bench was responsible for 37 of the team's 74 points and reserve forward Chris Loofe led the team defensively with a +11 rating and four rebounds with two blocks. The Leander, Texas, native also scored nine points.
Middle Tennessee put on the hardhats early, scoring 10 of their first 12 points of the game down low, thanks in large part to a six-point start from Essam Mostafa, who was 3-of-4 from the field heading into the first media timeout. Sam Houston had a pair of three-pointers and was also efficient shooting overall, leading 14-12 to that point. Both teams went through a bit of a cold spell the following 10 minutes, as Sam Houston turned the ball over five times in a six-minute span, but Middle Tennessee was only able to hit two out of 10 shots during that span.
It was Middle Tennessee, however, that led 39-31 heading into the half as the Blue Raiders went on a 19-7 run over the final six minutes. The Blue Raiders had good production off the bench in the first half. Tre Green hit a quartet of three-pointers to give him 12 points to go with two rebounds, leading all scorers. Fellow guard Cam Weston had five points and two assists at the break and post player Chris Loofe had three points and two rebounds and was particularly effective on the defensive end of the floor, blocking a shot and helping keep Sam Houston big man Kalifa Sakho at bay with just two points and one rebound in 15 minutes of play. Lamar Wilkerson was the Bearkats' leading scorer with 11 points and three rebounds. Wilkerson ended the game with 24 points and was Sam Houston's leading scorer.
With the score tied at 49 with 12:58 to play, it was Wilkerson who almost single-handedly kept the Bearkats in the hunt, with 22 points and five three-pointers, shooting a perfect 100% from beyond the arc. With 22 bench points as a team at the half, it was Justin Bufford, Essam Mostafa and Jlynn Counter who'd been the only players to score for Middle Tennessee to begin the half, with Bufford collecting his first four points of the afternoon.
Both teams traded blows down the stretch and with 1:31 left in the game, Middle Tennessee held onto a slim 67-65 lead coming out of a timeout. Guard Jlynn Counter hit a pair of free throws and had a no-look feed to find Essam Mostafa for a layup to put the Blue Raiders up four with less than a minute to go, a lead Middle Tennessee wouldn't relinquish. Counter also found Chris Loofe with a great dish that led to a Loofe dunk over Sam Houston's Eric Taylor putting MTSU on top by four once again with less than 20 seconds to play.
On a day in which Jestin Porter didn't see double digits in scoring, Green's 17 points and Loofe's nine points off the bench were paramount. Cam Weston also had nine points and five assists off the bench, including a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to help Middle Tennessee take a three-point lead. Jacob Johnson had two points and two rebounds off the bench, as well. Essam Mostafa had 13 points with eight rebounds and Justin Bufford seven points with two rebounds. Jlynn Counter seven points and along with Weston had a great day passing the ball, with six assists.
By the Numbers:
1,000: With his nine total points tonight, Camryn Weston became the 36th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau.
1,500: Essam Mostafa has now eclipsed the 1,500-point mark in his collegiate career following a 13-point output on Saturday.
4: The Blue Raiders now have four players with 1,000 or more points in their career. That list includes: Jlynn Counter, Jestin Porter, Essam Mostafa and Camryn Weston.
17: Season-high in points for Tre Green, who also hit a season-high five three-point baskets.
37-13: The comparison between the Blue Raiders and Bearkats in bench points in the game.
Player's Perspective: Junior guard Tre Green
"Their record doesn't dictate how good they are," Green said. "We knew we had to play our best and I thought we did really good as a team. The kickouts to where I get a lot of shots were open more often than not, so that's where I was able to get a lot of my success tonight. I feel like when I come in, I can give a boost to give the other guys a chance to do what they do even better. I've been under a lot of those guys' wings since I've been here. Guys like Cam (Weston), Justin (Bufford) and even Christian (Fussell) coming back, it's been great hearing those guys push me every day."
McDevitt's Mic:
"We knew this game wasn't going to be easy, just like it wasn't at their place," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Nick McDevitt. "They're tough and have figured out a new substitution pattern and are a bit more aggressive, defensively, particularly in the driving lanes. Chris Loofe and his activity on both ends of the floor was a big difference in the game. He's a lob threat and was in-and-out of screens and was great defensively around the bucket. Tre Green is a guy we've talked about a lot being steady and gave us a big lift and saw a big hoop. Green moves well when Jlynn Counter and Cam Weston get into the paint. We had a four-to-one assist to turnover ratio tonight between Counter and Weston and it helped get Green and Essam Mostafa going early, along with the lobs to Loofe, they were huge today."
Up next: The Blue Raiders head west Thursday to take on the New Mexico State Aggies. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The game can be heard on the Blue Raider Network.
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTMensBasketball), X (formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).
The Blue Raider bench was responsible for 37 of the team's 74 points and reserve forward Chris Loofe led the team defensively with a +11 rating and four rebounds with two blocks. The Leander, Texas, native also scored nine points.
Middle Tennessee put on the hardhats early, scoring 10 of their first 12 points of the game down low, thanks in large part to a six-point start from Essam Mostafa, who was 3-of-4 from the field heading into the first media timeout. Sam Houston had a pair of three-pointers and was also efficient shooting overall, leading 14-12 to that point. Both teams went through a bit of a cold spell the following 10 minutes, as Sam Houston turned the ball over five times in a six-minute span, but Middle Tennessee was only able to hit two out of 10 shots during that span.
It was Middle Tennessee, however, that led 39-31 heading into the half as the Blue Raiders went on a 19-7 run over the final six minutes. The Blue Raiders had good production off the bench in the first half. Tre Green hit a quartet of three-pointers to give him 12 points to go with two rebounds, leading all scorers. Fellow guard Cam Weston had five points and two assists at the break and post player Chris Loofe had three points and two rebounds and was particularly effective on the defensive end of the floor, blocking a shot and helping keep Sam Houston big man Kalifa Sakho at bay with just two points and one rebound in 15 minutes of play. Lamar Wilkerson was the Bearkats' leading scorer with 11 points and three rebounds. Wilkerson ended the game with 24 points and was Sam Houston's leading scorer.
With the score tied at 49 with 12:58 to play, it was Wilkerson who almost single-handedly kept the Bearkats in the hunt, with 22 points and five three-pointers, shooting a perfect 100% from beyond the arc. With 22 bench points as a team at the half, it was Justin Bufford, Essam Mostafa and Jlynn Counter who'd been the only players to score for Middle Tennessee to begin the half, with Bufford collecting his first four points of the afternoon.
Both teams traded blows down the stretch and with 1:31 left in the game, Middle Tennessee held onto a slim 67-65 lead coming out of a timeout. Guard Jlynn Counter hit a pair of free throws and had a no-look feed to find Essam Mostafa for a layup to put the Blue Raiders up four with less than a minute to go, a lead Middle Tennessee wouldn't relinquish. Counter also found Chris Loofe with a great dish that led to a Loofe dunk over Sam Houston's Eric Taylor putting MTSU on top by four once again with less than 20 seconds to play.
On a day in which Jestin Porter didn't see double digits in scoring, Green's 17 points and Loofe's nine points off the bench were paramount. Cam Weston also had nine points and five assists off the bench, including a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to help Middle Tennessee take a three-point lead. Jacob Johnson had two points and two rebounds off the bench, as well. Essam Mostafa had 13 points with eight rebounds and Justin Bufford seven points with two rebounds. Jlynn Counter seven points and along with Weston had a great day passing the ball, with six assists.
By the Numbers:
1,000: With his nine total points tonight, Camryn Weston became the 36th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau.
1,500: Essam Mostafa has now eclipsed the 1,500-point mark in his collegiate career following a 13-point output on Saturday.
4: The Blue Raiders now have four players with 1,000 or more points in their career. That list includes: Jlynn Counter, Jestin Porter, Essam Mostafa and Camryn Weston.
17: Season-high in points for Tre Green, who also hit a season-high five three-point baskets.
37-13: The comparison between the Blue Raiders and Bearkats in bench points in the game.
Player's Perspective: Junior guard Tre Green
"Their record doesn't dictate how good they are," Green said. "We knew we had to play our best and I thought we did really good as a team. The kickouts to where I get a lot of shots were open more often than not, so that's where I was able to get a lot of my success tonight. I feel like when I come in, I can give a boost to give the other guys a chance to do what they do even better. I've been under a lot of those guys' wings since I've been here. Guys like Cam (Weston), Justin (Bufford) and even Christian (Fussell) coming back, it's been great hearing those guys push me every day."
McDevitt's Mic:
"We knew this game wasn't going to be easy, just like it wasn't at their place," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Nick McDevitt. "They're tough and have figured out a new substitution pattern and are a bit more aggressive, defensively, particularly in the driving lanes. Chris Loofe and his activity on both ends of the floor was a big difference in the game. He's a lob threat and was in-and-out of screens and was great defensively around the bucket. Tre Green is a guy we've talked about a lot being steady and gave us a big lift and saw a big hoop. Green moves well when Jlynn Counter and Cam Weston get into the paint. We had a four-to-one assist to turnover ratio tonight between Counter and Weston and it helped get Green and Essam Mostafa going early, along with the lobs to Loofe, they were huge today."
Up next: The Blue Raiders head west Thursday to take on the New Mexico State Aggies. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The game can be heard on the Blue Raider Network.
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTMensBasketball), X (formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
