MT 93, King College 73: Postgame dribbles
| King (0-1) | 73 | ||
| Middle Tenn. (1-0) | 93 | ||
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Murphy Center • Murfreesboro (Tenn.) |
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| TEAM STATISTICS | |||
| King | MT | ||
| FG% | 43.1 | 54.9 | |
| 3-PT. FG% | 37.5 | 59.1 | |
| TOTAL REBOUNDS | 30 | 33 | |
| OFFENSIVE | 11 | 8 | |
| DEFENSIVE | 19 | 25 | |
| ASSISTS | 13 | 16 | |
| TURNOVERS | 13 | 13 | |
| STEALS | 5 | 5 | |
| FREE THROWS | 14-20 | 24-30 | |
| BLOCKS | 1 | 4 | |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | |||
| POINTS | |||
| Dockery (King) 19 | |||
| Washington (Middle Tennessee) 24 | |||
| REBOUNDS | |||
| Dockery, Kite (King) 6 | |||
| Sulton (Middle Tennessee) 7 | |||
| ASSISTS | |||
| McCargo, Smith (King) 3 | |||
| O’Neil, Emanuel (Middle Tennessee) 4 | |||
| STEALS | |||
| Smith (King) 2 | |||
| O’Neil, Ottley (Middle Tennessee) 2 | |||
“I thought it was a really good experience for our team, in that we got thrown every defense you could be thrown with our brand new guards … I thought it was a great learning experience.”
- Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis
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Free throw attempts by Montarrio Haddock. 63.6 MT’s first half 3-point field goal percentage. 5-3 MT’s record in season openers under Davis. |
The Blue Raiders had four players score 14 points or more and came within two 3-pointers of tying the school record of 15 set in 2000.
James Washington hit 8 of 10 from the floor to lead the team with 24 points, while senior forward Montarrio Haddock poured in 23 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
King College opened the game with hot perimeter shooting and a stifling 1-3-1 zone defense that plagued the Raiders early, but MT rallied to take the lead by halftime and extended that margin to as high as 25 late in the game.
TURNING POINTS
THE GAME WAS WON HERE: Trailing 29-19 with 6:08 remaining in the first half, MT proceeded to close the half on a 19-6 run, a stretch that included a pair of 3-pointers each by Washington and Rod Emanuel.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN LOST HERE: Even with the run at the end of the half, MT led just 38-35 going into the locker room. King College could have made the Raiders very nervous with another hot start to the second half, but MT came out strong in the final 20 minutes and had the lead extended to double figures less than five minutes into the half.
G James Gallman: Gallman was brilliant off the bench, providing instant offense with stellar outside shooting. His 18 points came in just 24 minutes.
F Montarrio Haddock: Haddock was a physical mismatch for King College. He effectively used his body to get to the foul line repeatedly and his early offense helped keep MT afloat while the halfcourt attack struggled against the zone.
G James Washington-Washington’s shooting was superb all night. He only missed once from 3-point range in six attempts and also scored on some smooth moves in the lane. His only dark spot was in the turnover category, where he committed five turnovers and had just one assist.
TOP STORY LINE
NEW GUARDS LIGHT IT UP
Last year’s team would have been very hard pressed to overcome a double digit deficit because it lacked a lot of quick strike capability from the outside.
The Raiders found themselves down 10 to big underdog King College in the first half, but dead eye outside shooting by an all new backcourt quickly erased the deficit and took control of the game.
Washington, Gallman, and Emanuel combined for 48 points and did so in a variety of ways.
Washington hit outside shots against the zone, Emanuel buried one long bomb off an offensive rebound kickout, and Gallman drilled a pair of treys in transition with his rapid fire release.
It certainly can’t be expected that MT will shoot nearly 60 percent from long range every night, but early indications are that this team is living up to the expectations of head coach Kermit Davis as it relates to perimeter shooting.
“We can shoot the ball and we can bring guys off the bench that make shots,” Davis said. “I think that we are going to be a team that can make 8-13 threes per game, but we need to get more out of our inside game than we got tonight … one thing we can do is make perimeter shots.”
Washington was brought in to run the show from the point guard spot mainly, but his shooting will be a huge factor throughout the year. Emanuel was brought in to be a complete off guard capable of big offensive nights. Gallman on the other hand, was brought in largely because of his sharpshooting.
“I got comfortable in the second half when I started hitting,” Gallman said. “I’ve been (working on shooting) since high school. My coach always just told me to run and shoot, run and shoot. In practice, that is what we would do, run and shoot, so I’ll credit my high school coach Jody Wright (for developing my shot).”
The 13 makes from 3-point range were the most since MT made 13 in a 2002 game against Florida International.
NEXT UP
Nov. 15th: Middle Tennessee at Ohio, 3 p.m.
