MOBILE, Ala. ? Middle Tennessee shot almost 70 percent from the field in the second half Saturday, using an 11-2 run early in the period to pick up an 82-67 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball victory over the University of South Alabama at the Mitchell Center.
The Blue Raiders (9-5, 3-0 Sun Belt) were ahead 41-35 with 17:41 left after DeAndrae Ross drew the Jaguars (9-6, 2-2 SBC) within six when they ran off 11of the next 13 points in a two-and-a-half minute stretch to take control of the contest. Desmond Yates started it with a basket, and after his second jumper during the spurt Montarrio Haddock’s bucket put the Blue Raiders up 52-37 with just over 15 minutes remaining.
They would make 8-of-9 from the floor in the first seven-plus minutes after the intermission, finishing the half connecting at a 68.2-percent rate. MT also didn’t miss a foul shot over the final 20 minutes, making all 14 attempts en route to connecting on 89.7 at the stripe in the contest.
Demtrius Green paced the Blue Raiders, winners of five in a row, with 18 points. He converted all four attempts from the field and hit 1-of-12 foul shots. Yates added 17 points and five rebounds, Kevin Kanaskie recorded 16 points and Haddock added 13 off the bench.
Kanaskie also handed out five assists without a turnover and was credited with four steals to lead all players in both categories.
Domonic Tilford led the Jags for the fifth consecutive outing in scoring, finishing with 18 points to go along with a team-best four assists. DeAndré Coleman chipped in with 13 points and Brandon Davis had 11.
MT outrebounded the Jaguars 32-27, and they committed only seven turnovers.
“We had 3,300 people come out tonight to see us play, and they deserved better than what we showed,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow stated. “Middle Tennessee is a very good and experienced team. They were more physical than us, and they executed and coached better than we did.”
Kanaskie followed a pair of free throws with a jump shot, putting MT up 21 points, 70-49, with just under eight minutes to go. The Jags would score seven points in a row, with Tilford accounting for five with a trey and two free throws to pull within 14, 72-58, with less than five minutes to go. Davis cut the deficit down another point when he hit 1-of-2 free throws with just under two minutes remaining to make the score 78-65, but that’s as close as USA would get.
Although the Jaguars turned the ball over nine times, they shot 44 percent from the field and 69.2 percent at the free-throw line. They did block 10 shots, with Ronald Douglas accounting for half that total and Philip Tabet adding a career-high three.
In the opening period, the Jaguars trailed by as many as eight points before they used an 11-3 spurt to get back into the contest. Tabet ? who finished with four points and five boards in only 13 minutes ? helped key the run, finding Douglas for layup, scoring four points on a tip-in and two free throws and blocking a shot. When Tilford made two free throws with four-and-a-half minutes to go, the score was tied 26-26.
There would be three more ties before the Blue Raiders took a 36-32 edge to the locker room when they closed the half with four straight points in the last two minutes from Yates.
USA scored the game’s first five points on Coleman’s layup and a three from the right corner from C.J. Garner in the opening 85 seconds, but MT answered with a 14-2 run to go up 14-7 with 13:48 remaining. Green tied the contest with a three-point play, then gave MT its first lead when he followed 20 seconds later with a steal and a layup. Kanaskie closed out the spurt with a jumper.
The Jags connected on just three of their first 13 attempts from the floor, and when Kanaskie sank a three-pointer to make the score 21-13 with 10-and-a-half minutes left USA was forced to call its first time-out.
USA ? who saw a three-game win streak come to an end ? will next take the court when it travels to Monroe, La., Thursday, to face Louisiana-Monroe at 7 p.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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