MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Extended scoring droughts and shooting woes plagued UTSA Thursday evening at the Murphy Center as Middle Tennessee secured a 75-51 home victory.
Middle Tennessee, which improved to 15-5 overall and 7-1 in C-USA play, was led by Nick King's 22 points and Antwain Johnson's 15. Brandon Walters controlled a game-high 14 rebounds as MT owned the boards 45-26. The Blue Raiders shot 48 percent (27 of 55) for the night and outscored the Roadrunners 12-6 in second-chance opportunities.
UTSA (10-11, 3-5 C-USA) was led offensively by Jhivvan Jackson's 17 points on seven makes, including three 3-pointers. Nick Allen was the Roadrunners' second-leading scorer at eight points to go along with a team-high five rebounds. The Roadrunners closed the game shooting 34 percent (21 of 61) from the floor, including seven threes.
UTSA took a 16-14 lead on a Toby Van Ry inside score with nearly nine minutes elapsed in the first half. However, the Blue Raiders would hold the Roadrunners to just one field goal over the ensuing six-plus minutes as MT pieced together a 15-2 run that resulted in a 29-18 lead as King converted a 3-point play at the 5:08 mark. The Roadrunners outscored MT 9-6 over the remainder of the period, trimming the Blue Raider halftime lead to 35-27 at the intermission.
UTSA maintained its eight-point halftime deficit through the first three minutes, but a near five-minute scoring drought allowed Middle Tennessee to expand its lead to double-digits at 47-34 before Jackson broke the Roadrunners scoreless streak with a contested bucket at the rim with 12:06 to play.
The Blue Raiders then scored nine of the game's next 11 points to seize control at 56-58 on a Johnson dunk at the 8:47 mark. UTSA got no closer than 13 the rest of the way as Middle Tennessee used a 12-0 run from the 7:30 mark until 4:25 to go to take a 25-point lead and put the game away.
Up next
UTSA continues its Conference USA road swing at UAB on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff from Bartow Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be carried on the WatchESPN platform.
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