The rivalry was alive and well in the 100 Miles of Hate on Saturday night as Middle Tennessee (13-5, 4-1 C–USA) defeated Western Kentucky (11-7, 2-3 C–USA) 71-57 in front of 6,000 plus fans in the Murphy Center. 

There was chirping from the floor seats to the top row, with both MTSU and Western Kentucky fans making their presence heard. Two competitive conference rivals along with the atmospheric buzz created an enjoyable product for everybody.  

The first half was dirty and gritty on all accounts. The first media timeout came at 14:37 with a combined eight turnovers, three blocks and nine missed shots all while the score was 4-2 in favor of Western Kentucky.  

“Neither team was putting on an offensive exhibition in the early goings of the game, but I thought it was because of how hard and how physical both teams were guarding,” head coach Nick McDevitt said.  

The entire first half was comprised of this back and forth style of basketball, with neither side gaining an inch.  

Tensions boiled over at the first media timeout of the second half when WKU’s Jalen Jackson fouled Camryn Weston while blocking a shot. 

As Jackson headed to the bench during the timeout, he found himself surrounded by Blue Raiders and shared words with Weston, Justin Bufford and co.  

MTSU gained the lead in the second half and didn’t look back.  

After proving themselves in front of a big home crowd, MTSU center Essam Mostafa hopes to see the Murphy Center packed for every game, he said.  

The next step in both the rivalry and the season for MTSU is winning on the road. The second leg of the 100 Miles of Hate will be at WKU where the Blue Raiders are 12-41 all time and 1-3 in head coach Nick McDevitt’s career.  

Before facing WKU on the road the Blue Raiders have back-to-back away games and a a two game homestand against more high-level conference opponents.  

It’s hard to win on the road, so the focus is staying humble and getting better then coming back and winning the home games, McDevitt said.  

If the men’s basketball team continues to win, look for even more support in the stands from students and fans.  

“Just seeing the community come support these guys, they feel it, they can feed off the energy,” McDevitt said. “We have been successful over the last several years and when you got your home crowd, and our students aren’t back yet, so we are really looking forward to having the Blue Zoo back.”