Middle Tennessee men’s basketball (10-7, 4-2 CUSA) lost its second game of a three-game road trip, against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-7, 3-3 CUSA) 59-58. The game came down to its waning moments, following a down-to-the-wire three-point shot by the Bulldogs.
The Blue Raiders started the first half strong, shooting 47% from the field and 4-of-11 from three-point territory. Additionally, relentless defense combined for 20 rebounds, three steals and five blocks. Following a turnover, LA Tech took its first timeout at the 13:46 mark.
Coming out of the timeout, MTSU went on a 17-7 run led by several Blue Raiders and racked up five of their 10 assists in the half before another Bulldogs timeout with 7:48 remaining.
The Blue Raiders took their largest lead of the night after a three-foot dunk by Kamari Lands to put MTSU up 34-14 at the 6:06 mark.
Middle Tennessee continued to dominate by cleaning the glass and blocking shots, as Chris Loofe tied his career high with four blocks, all coming in the first half.
With under a minute remaining, Jahvin Carter scored on a driving layup to send the Blue Raiders into halftime, leading the Bulldogs 40-21.
The Blue Raiders’ momentum shifted with a sloppy second half, as LA Tech scored four times before Middle Tennessee could get back on the scoreboard.
Six turnovers, foul trouble and poor free-throw shooting limited MTSU’s offense to 18 points in the final 20 minutes of action. The Bulldogs continued to claw their way back into the game with three starters scoring in double figures.
After a missed layup attempt by Carter, Carter and LA Tech’s Jaylen Fenner both went for the rebound with the ball going out of bounds with possession called to MTSU. LA Tech’s coach, Talvin Hester, used a coaches’ challenge, as the ball was overturned to the Bulldogs with 15 seconds left.
In the Bulldogs final possession, DJ Dudley connected the team’s first three-point shot of the night, with 4.7 seconds remaining, to win 59-58.
After a discouraging road loss for the Blue Raiders, coach Nick McDevitt pointed out the lack of intensity from Middle Tennessee in the second half.
“[It was] just a disappointing loss, not just the loss, but how we lost,” McDevitt said on WGNS Radio’s postgame show. “Our team has to learn how to win on the road. Credit to LA Tech, they didn’t fold. They came out hard in the second half, and we didn’t match it.”
Following a difficult three-game road trip, Middle Tennessee will host the Missouri State University Bears (10-7, 4-2 CUSA), continuing CUSA play in the Murphy Center on Jan. 17, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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