Middle Tennessee falls short to Jax State on the road, 77-63

Thursday, February 6

Jacksonville, Ala.

6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

15-8,6-4CUSA

Jacksonville State

16-7,8-2CUSA

Middle Tenn.

Jacksonville St.

2/6/2025 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book

By: Jayce Standridge

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Middle Tennessee fell to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 77-63, in a heavyweight matchup at the Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday night.

The Blue Raiders and Gamecocks started strong, knocking down big threes and scoring points in the paint. Jlynn Counter led the offense early, scoring five points in the first four minutes of the game. However, Jacksonville State came out hot, shooting 5-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first six minutes to take a 17-9 lead.

The Blue Raiders weren't able to recover from the JSU's hot spree, with the lead reaching as high as 12 points with eight minutes to go in the first half. MTSU responded with two three-pointers from Jestin Porter and a powerful dunk by Torey Alston but couldn't overcome the Gamecocks' hot shooting from beyond the arc. The two teams headed to their locker rooms, with Jax State holding a 48-34 lead at the break.

Both teams came out of the break similarly to how they entered the first half. Middle Tennessee opened with six unanswered points from Porter and Counter, but Jacksonville State maintained its momentum, with the lead fluctuating around 10 points.

The scoring slowed for both teams, but JSU kept the lead for the rest of the game, eventually securing the win to remain undefeated at home in Conference USA play. MTSU fell to 15-8 (6-4 CUSA), which ties the team for second in the conference. Porter led the Blue Raiders with 17 points, followed by Counter with 11, then Camryn Weston and Essam Mostafa with 10 points each. Both Counter and Torey Alston narrowly missed double-doubles, with Counter tallying 11 points and eight rebounds and Alston leading the team with 13 rebounds and eight points.

By the Numbers:
10+: Jestin Porter has scored 10 or more points in eight consecutive games.
13: Torey Alston tied his career-high with 13 rebounds.
4: Four Blue Raiders finished in double digits in scoring.

McDevitt's Mic
"They really made some big-time shots, and we had good defense on them, too. They just made their shots. There were plays we got wrong, and they took away one of our strongest assets in fast-break offense. When you look at the keys to the game, we got about 85% - 90% of it correct. We didn't have many turnovers, we had good rebounding until late, and we had more points off turnovers. Oftentimes, you don't see shooting numbers like that, so we just have to tip our cap to a really good player having one of those nights."

Up Next
Middle Tennessee will continue its road trip and play Kennesaw State in the KSU Convocation Center Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m.

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