DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Middle Tennessee and Boston University traded baskets for the first 12 minutes of the quarterfinals on Monday night at the 2022 Roman College Basketball Invitational, but a 10-0 run gave the Blue Raiders some distance, and they never looked back. a 76-46 victory at the Ocean Center. Central Tennessee clapped defensively, while the offensive end locked in a wire-to-wire victory.
“We ran a good offensive, but they were there too,” head coach Nick McDevitt said of the opening minutes of the game. “I said to our team, ‘Someday one of us will have to watch a little better.’ It will either be us, or it will be them. “Our offensive continued, but then the defense started to help by stopping it.
Boston started the game 7-for-14 from the floor, but MT kept the Terriers at just 2-for-13 the rest of the first half. After leading 21-19 in the under-eight media timeout, the Blue Raiders extended their lead to 38-24 with a balanced attack.
During the break, all but one active Blue Raider had scored at least two points. The last player – Taylor Millin – scored the first points of the second half and ended the match with seven.
MT continued its attack in the second half, shooting 15-of-23 – a .652 shooting percentage – from the ground over the last 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, MT held Terrier to 22 points on 8-for-26 shooting (.308) in the second half, forcing six turnovers while Teafale Lenard, Jr., recorded three of his four blocked shots. Boston finished the game just 5-for-25 from a 3-point range.
For the game, Blue Raiders shot .556 from the floor and .417 from 3-point range.
Lenard led every Tennessee player with 14, a new career high for the Freshman. Enrolling Lenard in double numbers were Donovan Sims (13), DeAndre Dishman (12) an Elias King (12). King’s 12 points were one season high.
Dishman and Sims led MT with six rebounds, while The Sims’ six assists were a game high.
The Blue Raiders enter the semifinals round at 20.00 CT on Tuesday on ESPN2. They are waiting for the winners of Monday night’s match between Ohio and Abilene Christian.
Play Notes
- The Blue Raiders’ 25 wins of the season are tied for the fourth most in a season in program history.
- Central Tennessee is advancing to the semifinals of a postseason tournament for the first time in the history of the program.
- The 30-point victory was MT’s greatest ever in a postseason game.
- Central Tennessee has claimed its biggest winning margin over a Division I opponent since defeating UTEP 81-50 on January 27, 2018.
- Lenard tied a career high with his four blocks on the night.
- The Sims’ six assists tied his season high.
- Dishman enters Tuesday’s game and needs just eight points for 1,000 to reach his career.
- Boston was the seventh opponent MT faced for the first time ever in 2021-22. Tuesday’s game is a chance for the Blue Raiders to defeat a team they never beat. MT is 0-1 all time against Abilene Christian and 0-3 against Ohio.
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