Featured Photo by Emily Cole/MTSU Athletics
Story by Calvin White
Middle Tennessee men’s basketball (16-22,9-7 C-USA) secured its first win over a ranked opponent since its first round win over No. 2 Michigan State in the 2016 NCAA Tournament with a 74-70 win over the No. 25 FAU Owls (24-3, 14-2 C-USA) Thursday night at the Murphy Center.
Camryn Weston was inserted back into the starting lineup for MTSU head coach Nick McDevitt and scored 16 points to lead all scorers while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Elias King once again provided a spark off the bench for the Blue Raiders, scoring 15 points while shooting –for-3 from beyond the arc. Justin Bufford tied his career high with 12 points and led the team with three steals.
The Blue Raiders trailed by one at halftime but scored 20 points in the second half’s first nine minutes to force a timeout by FAU head coach Dusty May after Middle Tennessee took a 15-point lead at 56-41.
The Owls threw a punch with their backs against the wall by shooting 6-for-12 from 3-point range in the second half but Bufford and Eli Lawrence helped seal the game with clutch free throws.
“I was really proud of our team,” McDevitt said. “A really good win versus a really good team. You have got to play well any time you are going to try to knock off a top 25 team and I thought we were locked in on both ends of the floor. We talked about making sure we did not let them get out in transition over and over, particularly with live ball turnovers.”
MTSU outrebounded the Owls 40-32 and held FAU under its season average by six rebounds to limit the number of FAU possessions. The Blue Raiders also limited FAU to just five offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points.
“The preparation was all about rebounding,” Weston said. “We felt like we didn’t play like ourselves the last couple of games and we just had to get back to ourselves, which is crashing the glass and rebounding. I felt like I had to make a big impact on that.”
With the win, MTSU now has sole possession of fourth place in Conference USA with four games remaining in the regular season. The Blue Raiders still face FIU, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, and UTEP. Earning a top-four seed in the conference would give Middle Tennessee a bye in the first round of the Conference USA tournament in Frisco, TX.
Calvin White is the sports editor for MTSU Sidelines. If you have any information for a story, you can contact him at wcwhite2002@gmail.com.
