Story by Calvin White/ Sports Editor

MTSU men’s basketball won the first game of the college basketball season 79-52 over Brescia in the Murphy Center while holding the Bearcats to just 33.9 percent shooting.

The Blue Raiders forced 17 Bearcat turnovers for 25 points and pulled down 46 total rebounds and 19 offensive rebounds for 26 second chance points. MTSU also scored a staggering 52 points in the paint.

The Blue Raiders took a 36-19 lead into the halftime break after holding Brescia to 7-of-28 shooting in the first half.

“Real happy with the team win,” said head coach Nick McDevitt.  “A great environment to start out the year and the season. The 50-year anniversary of the building, the 100-year anniversary of our program, to have that many elementary-aged students from Rutherford County in here, I don’t have to tell you guys anything, it was loud in there and the decibel level was really high. Really proud of our team to stay locked in in an environment like that.”

Jestin Porter, a transfer from Tyler Junior College, led all scorers with 14 points on 6-10 shooting after getting the start at point guard in his Blue Raider debut.

“It was a good experience,” said Porter. “It’s a brotherhood here so it was fun to go out there with my brothers and play for the first time.”

Middle Tennessee will take on Winthrop on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on ESPN+.