South ‘Bama Jags deflate MTSU

The South Alabama Jaguars (16-7, 10-2) stop the Blue Raiders (12-12, 7-6) streak with a 61-38 win.

Middle Tennessee lost in its second meeting against defending conference champions South Alabama Saturday night. The Raiders couldn’t muster much offense against the quick Jaguars. However, Theryn Hudson continued to shine for Middle posting a team high 10 points, despite the loss.

The Jaguars came in to Murfreesboro for the second of two meetings this season. The home-and-home series was split between the two, with MTSU winning in Alabama, and the Jaguars wining in Tennessee.

Since their last meeting on January second, South Alabama has gone undefeated stringing together 10 wins in a row.

The game was a tale of two halves, with Middle taking the first half by a point, 28-27. The second half was decidedly different for the Jaguars, who got their offense on track and scored 34 points to send the Raiders back to an even .500.

The Raiders, who scored their lowest point total since 1978, just weren’t clicking on offense. Execution was down, turnovers were up, and South Alabama capitalized. As a unit, MT looked flat, and unprepared for the pressure they were going to be under. John Pelphrey, the Jaguars coach, clearly made adjustments from last month, and effectively shut the Raiders down.

Sophomore Theryn Hudson continues to play like a man possessed. His effort and hustle left him as the only MT player with double digit scoring. He finished the game 5-6 from the field, with three assists, three rebounds and two steals. Fellow sophomore Kevin Kanaskie tallied eight points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block over the course of the evening.

Every team has off evenings and Middle had one tonight. Their next game is Thursday February 8th against Louisiana-Monroe. Coach Davis and his men will have plenty of time to practice, and find their rhythm, hopefully leading to a win to get the team back on track. Until then, remember how good it feels to leave the Murphy Center as the pep band belts out “Alma Mater”, and every blue clad face is smiling.