HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball (12-14, 6-9 CUSA) fell to Sam Houston (17-9, 9-6 CUSA) in the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum by a final score of 78-70 on Wednesday night. 

Alec Oglesby opened up the scoring for the Blue Raiders after eight straight Bearkat points to start the game. Both teams proceeded to go on to play two and a half scoreless minutes before Torey Alston broke the scoring drought with a jumper. The Blue Raiders went on to score seven straight points to tie up the game at 12-12 before the Bearkats would go on another 8-0 scoring run. 

Middle Tennessee tried to chip away at the Sam Houston lead for the rest of the first half but ultimately headed to the locker room down 12 by a score of 44-32. Alston and Sean Smith led the Blue Raiders in scoring after 20 minutes with seven points each. Middle Tennessee blocked six shots and had five steals to top Sam Houston in both categories at halftime. 

The Blue Raiders scored the opening six points of the first half, Chris Loofe starting the second half scoring off the glass. Two three-point plays by Alston and Jahvin Carter cut the Bearkat lead to five. After more back-and-forth scoring, a Sam Houston flagrant foul and four points from Smith brought the game within one for Middle Tennessee with just under eight minutes to play. Despite the push from the Blue Raiders, Middle Tennessee could not overcome the Sam Houston lead, falling to the Bearkats by a final score of 78-70. 

Alston led Middle Tennessee in scoring with 16 points, and four other Blue Raiders joined in double-figure scoring. Loofe led off the glass with seven boards, Alston and Luka Jovanovic each with six. 

By the Numbers
2: Middle Tennessee committed just two personal fouls in the first half of play. 
10: Tonight marks Alec Oglesby's 10th game of the season in double-digit scoring for the Blue Raiders. 
100: Chris Loofe shot 100 percent from the floor against the Bearkats with 15 points, just one point shy of his career high. 

Up Next
The Blue Raiders come back home to host Delaware in the Murphy Center on Saturday, Feb. 21 with tipoff at 1:00 p.m. The game will honor all former Blue Raiders for Legends weekend, while also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of MTSU's win in the NCAA Tournament over Michigan State.