Middle Tennessee men’s basketball (14-7, 5-3 CUSA) learned what missing its starting center and playing a bad half of basketball leads to against New Mexico State (12-9, 5-3 CUSA) losing 61-57.
Center Essam Mostafa did not play for the Blue Raiders, Thursday night, showing how valuable he is on the court. Mostafa, known as a dominant rebounder who adds 13 points per game was out with a lower body injury according to head coach Nick McDevitt.
New Mexico State wreaked havoc on the offensive boards grabbing 13 rebounds and turning them into 16 points.
NMSU’s Peter Filipovity grabbed seven of his nine total rebounds in the first half.
Missing Mostafa wasn’t the only reason the Aggies were able to dominate the first half, Middle Tennessee’s first half defense was less than desirable. New Mexico scored 57% of its points in the first half.
“We were just kind of going through the motions at times in the first half, the difference in the game was points off turnovers and second chances points,” McDevitt said. “You can’t have 15 turnovers when you are not going to have someone like Essam [Mostafa] playing. Your margin of error got a little smaller.”
Coupled with the problems on the defensive end was the fact that shots weren’t falling on the offensive end for the Blue Raiders, especially beyond the arc.
Middle Tennessee was 1-14 at the 4:23 mark in the first quarter from deep, with multiple threes bouncing off the rim or completely missing any part of the basket.
The Blue Raiders finished the half 3-17 beyond the arc.
If it is the right shot and the right player, then threes aren’t bad shots to take but six or seven of those missed three pointers weren’t good shots, McDevitt said.
The second half was closer to what everybody expected from the game from both teams. New Mexico isn’t considered an above-average shooting team sitting tied for last in CUSA, but the Aggies are a well-respected defensive unit.
The Aggies forced nine turnovers from the Blue Raiders down the stretch.
At the half, Middle Tennessee began knocking down shots giving themselves a chance to win or send it to overtime in the final minutes.
Camryn Weston scored a fast break layup with just under four minutes left to cut the deficit to two points, 57-59. Middle Tennessee would have five scoring opportunities before New Mexico State iced the game.
What did MTSU do with those five opportunities?
The Blue Raiders missed three three-pointers and took two field-goals that were blocked.
Middle Tennessee takes on UTEP, both teams tied for second in Conference USA, on Saturday, Feb. 1.
UTEP and New Mexico provide similar challenges, both teams being defensive heavyweights. UTEP currently leads the country in forced turnovers at almost 18 a game leading to 20.9 points per game.
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