Final: MTSU 77 Louisiana Tech 75

Middle Tennessee hangs on through two overtimes to take down Louisiana Tech 77-75. The Blue Raiders survived a late surge by the Bulldogs to advance to the Conference USA Championship semifinals. MTSU is set to take on No. 2 seed Jacksonville State on March 14 at 2:00 p.m. CDT.

MTSU stat leaders

Points: Jestin Porter – 20

Rebounds: Torey Alston – 8

Assists: Jlynn Counter – 5

LA Tech stat leaders

Points: Al Green – 28

Rebounds: Kaden Cooper – 14

Assists: Sean Newman Jr. – 7

0:04 2OT: Chris Loofe appears to come down with the defensive rebound, but the officials determine it to be a jump ball. LA Tech will take possession after its timeout.

0:16 2OT: Essam Mostafa converts a layup to give Middle Tennessee a 77-75 lead. Timeout MTSU after the play.

1:05 2OT: Jestin Porter hits a step-back two to give MTSU a 75-73 lead. The Blue Raiders spend a timeout after the bucket.

3:57 2OT: Torey Alston goes one of two at the free throw line. The score is 69-69.

End 1OT: Sean Newman Jr. shoots a half-court shot at the buzzer, but doesn’t convert. Double overtime coming up at 66-66.

0:02 OT: Camryn Weston of MTSU gets tied up near the goal and jump ball goes to LA Tech. The Bulldogs spend a timeout to draw something up.

0:17 OT: Timeout Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders advance the ball to half-court and spend a timeout. The game is tied 66-66.

0:21 OT: Essam Mostafa picks up his fourth foul, and Al Green hits both free throws to tie the game at 66-66.

0:35 OT: Timeout LA Tech. Justin Bufford of MTSU misses two free throws on the opposite end, and the Bulldogs advance the ball to half-court before calling time.

1:21 OT: Timeout Middle Tennessee. Sean Elkinton’s three point shot rims out and keeps MTSU’s lead at 66-64.

1:44 OT: Jlynn Counter hits one of two free throws to bring MTSU’s lead to 66-64.

2:24 OT: One of two Essam Mostafa free throws give MTSU a 65-62 lead.

5:00 OT: MTSU wins the tip, and overtime is underway.

0:01 2H: Officials determine Justin Bufford’s basket is no good. One second goes back on the clock and LA Tech throws it out of bounds. This one will take overtime at 62-62.

0:00 2H: Justin Bufford three-point buzzer-beater. Middle Tennessee wins 65-62 if the play stands.

0:31 2H: Timeout Louisiana Tech. LA Tech drives down for two after Chris Loofe’s air-balled free throw. The score is tied 62-62.

0:50 2H: Chris Loofe hits one of two free throws. MTSU leads 62-60.

1:18 2H: Kaden Cooper of LA Tech misses two free throws to leave the score at 61-60 MTSU.

1:43 2H: Referees review possession after the ball went out-of-bounds and overturn the call. LA Tech ball trailing 61-60.

2:41 2H: Sean Newman Jr. hits three free throws for LA Tech to tie the game at 58-58.

3:28 2H: Timeout LA Tech. Middle Tennessee leads 58-53. Despite a 3:28 scoring drought that included two missed free throws, the Bulldogs’ defense is keeping them in it.

7:28 2H: Al Green hits two of three free throws to cut the MTSU lead to 54-51.

7:58 2H: Media timeout. MTSU leads 54-49. Al Green of LA Tech leads all scorers with 18 points.

8:25 2H: Timeout MTSU. A shooting slump brings Louisiana Tech a little closer in this one. The Blue Raiders have converted one of their last eight shots from the field. Still, Middle Tennessee leads 54-49.

11:17 2H: Media timeout. Middle Tennessee leads 51-45. Essam Mostafa and Chris Loofe both have three fouls for MTSU.

13:34 2H: Essam Mostafa checks back into the game with three fouls.

14:45 2H: Media timeout. Middle Tennessee leads LA Tech 50-41 after an and-one from Torey Alston. Alston will shoot the free throw following the break. Jestin Porter still leads the Blue Raiders in scoring with 16 points.

19:30 2H: Essam Mostafa back in for the Blue Raiders for the first time since the 16:56 mark of the first half, and almost immediately picks up his third foul. Blue Raiders lead 40-31 to begin.

Halftime: MTSU 40 LA Tech 31

Middle Tennessee carries its largest lead of the game into the break. After picking up two fouls early, Essam Mostafa subbed out for the rest of the half with Chris Loofe and Christian Fussell filling in for the graduate student big. An injury to Bulldog big Daniel Batcho thwarted Louisiana Tech’s momentum and the Blue Raiders took advantage. Batcho subbed back into the game with two minutes left in the half.

MTSU stat leaders

Points: Jestin Porter – 16

Rebounds: Torey Alston – 6

Assists: Jlynn Counter – 3

LA Tech stat leaders

Points: Al Green – 10

Rebounds: Kaden Cooper – 5

Assists: Sean Newman Jr. – 3

0:33 1H: Timeout LA Tech. MTSU leads 38-31.

0:42 1H: Timeout MTSU. The Blue Raiders hold their largest lead of the game at 37-31.

4:03 1H: Daniel Batcho of LA Tech comes back from the tunnel during a review still dressed. Unclear if the Bulldog big will return.

7:02 1H: Media timeout. Daniel Batcho goes down hard in front of the Bulldog cheerleaders. Trainers take the LA Tech big man into the tunnel during the break. Louisiana Tech leads 25-23.

10:48 1H: Christian Fussell checks in for Chris Loofe. Louisiana Tech leads 20-16. MTSU’s big men, Loofe and Essam Mostafa are both in foul trouble early with two each.

11:49 1H: Media timeout. Louisiana Tech leads Middle Tennessee, 17-13. The game is physical early with six fouls called on the Blue Raiders thus far, two offensive. Going into the timeout, MTSU head coach Nick McDevitt showed frustration and received a technical foul.

15:43 1H: Media timeout. Louisiana Tech leads 12-10 early. Jestin Porter leads Middle Tennessee in points with three.

16:56 1H: Chris Loofe checks in for Essam Mostafa, who has picked up two fouls within the first four minutes.

20:00 1H: Louisiana Tech wins the tip, and the game is underway in Propst Arena.