Middle Tennessee wins 68-67 nailbiter over Sam Houston

Sunday, January 4

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

9-5,3-0CUSA

Sam Houston

8-6,0-3CUSA

Sam Houston

Middle Tenn.

1/4/2026 4:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book Photo Gallery

By: Anthony Fiorella / MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Trailing by one point with just three seconds on the clock, Middle Tennessee's (9-5, 3-0 CUSA) Sean Smith found himself trapped along the baseline. The veteran calmly retreated to the three-point line where he found a wide-open Torey Alston under the basket and fired a rocket to the forward, who threw down a thunderous, two-handed jam to put Middle Tennessee ahead 68-67 over Sam Houston (8-6, 0-3 CUSA) to help his team win a nail biter by that same score. Middle Tennessee moves to 3-0 in Conference USA, marking the first time in Nick McDevitt's tenure as head coach the Blue Raiders have accomplished that feat.

Just as it did against LA Tech, Middle Tennessee relied once again on the three-ball to take an early 25-14 lead after the game's first 10 minutes. The Blue Raiders were 5-of-10 from deep to that point, led by Tre Green and Jahvin Carter, who each had a pair of threes to their credit. A trio of Blue Raiders, including Green and Carter, had six points along with Kamari Lands, who also grabbed two early rebounds.

Sam Houston tightened things up defensively to close out the half, holding the Blue Raiders to a stretch where they shot just 3-of-17 from the floor to overcome a 17-point deficit and tie the game at 34 going into the locker room. The Blue Raiders were also active defensively, stealing six passes and blocking a shot to force nine Bearkat turnovers in the first half. Green's eight points led the Blue Raiders in scoring while Chris Loofe's five first-half rebounds led the Blue Raiders on the glass.

The second half was tightly contested throughout, with neither team pulling ahead of the other by more than five points in the half. The Blue Raiders got a good injection of energy off the bench from guard Smith, who provided eight points, all coming in the second half. His second of two assists won the game late.

The Blue Raiders had three players finish in double-figures in scoring. Carter led the pack with 16 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists. Loofe grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, marking the second game in a row a Blue Raider center grabbed at least 10 rebounds after Luka Jovanovic did so against LA Tech. Loofe's final rebound came on a missed free-throw prior to Alston's game-winning dunk. Alston finished with 12 points and had three rebounds and Lands had 14 points with three rebounds and two assists. Middle Tennessee generated 16 points off turnovers and had 11 steals as a team.

Nick McDevitt
"(The final possession) had a great individual play by Sean Smith," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Nick McDevitt. "He's a winner. He doesn't care whether he starts, comes off the bench, plays point guard, he just wants to win. He had great poise on that play. He looked trapped, got out of it and made a great pass to Torey for that dunk. You have to credit Sam Houston. They're a gritty and tough team. You just never feel comfortable against them. We knew they weren't going to go away."

Jahvin Carter
"Against LA Tech, we shot it really well, and we had a day to prepare for (Sam Houston)," Carter said. "We locked in and bought into the plan and jumped on them early, but I think we got a bit too comfortable and we had to fight it out with them. They do a lot of things really well, but we fought and did what we had to do in the end."

By the Numbers
4: Career-high in three-pointers made in a game by Jahvin Carter.
3: Wins marks the best start in conference play for Nick McDevitt in his MTSU career.
13: Lead changes in the game, with 2:51 of action today with a tied score.

Up Next
Middle Tennessee's first road game in CUSA play is set for this coming Thursday night at UTEP. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 CDT on CBS Sports Network and the Blue Raider Network.