Middle Tennessee pounds Vanderbilt

[December 09, 2016]  MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee guard Giddy Potts and forward Reggie Upshaw put on a show, and the Murphy Athletic Center crowd loved it.

Potts scored 27 points, and Upshaw added 14, and the Blue Raiders blew out Vanderbilt 71-48 in a matchup of Nashville-area rivals on Thursday evening.

Forward Jacorey Williams contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds for Middle Tennessee (9-1).

Guard Matthew Fisher-Davis led Vanderbilt (5-5) with 13 points. Forward Jeff Roberson added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Vanderbilt, one of the nation's best 3-point shooting teams, hit only 5 of 19 behind the arc. The first half ended poorly for the Commodores, and it got worse from there.

The Commodores struggled to get good looks against Middle Tennessee's mix of zone and man-to-man defenses. The Blue Raiders used that to create some broken-floor opportunities early in the second half, including a pair of thundering dunks by Upshaw on fastbreak.

The second came with 12:52 left, giving Middle Tennessee its biggest lead to that point at 20.

The margin grew to 24 when Upshaw fed Cox for a spectacular two-hand slam at about the 8:00 mark.

Coming off a 19-of-32 performance behind the 3-point arc in a win over High Point, the Commodores started 3 of 4 from long distance. However, Middle Tennessee went to a zone, Vanderbilt's outside shooting went cold, and the Commodores could neither create their own shots, get offensive rebounds nor get to the foul line. They trailed 31-23 at the break after shooting 32.1 percent from the field.

The Blue Raiders, meanwhile, made living off open mid-range jump shots and the play of Potts, who scored 15 first-half points on 12 shots.

Overall, Middle Tennessee outshot Vanderbilt 45.9 percent to 32.1 percent from the floor.

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