Feb 16, 2002

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Tommy Gunn scored a game-high 17 points as Middle Tennessee defeated the University of Denver by a 62-47 in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday night at the Murphy Center.

With the win, the Blue Raiders (13-13, 6-7 SBC) clinched the No. 3 East Division seed for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, March 1-5 in New Orleans. With two games remaining, Denver (8-17, 3-10) wrapped up the No. 5 West seed with South Alabama's overtime loss at New Orleans. The Pioneers will play their first-round tournament game on Friday, March 1, against the No. 4 seed from the East.

Junior guard B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas / Converse Judson HS) led the Pioneers with 11 points, while senior forward Wahhab Carter (El Reno, Okla. / El Reno HS) added 10 points.

John Humphrey had four 3-pointers for his 12 points, and Lee Nosse had 11 points for the Blue Raiders.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first 10 minutes of the game. Together, both teams combined to make just two of their first 10 shots as Middle Tennessee took a 3-2 lead at the first media timeout with 14 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half. Back-to-back jumpers from junior guard Leslie Richardson II (Aurora, Colo. / Overland HS / Lamar CC) gave Denver an 11-10 lead with 10:08 left, but the Blue Raiders hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 16-10 lead.

The long-distance shots would continue to pay off for MT, as the Blue Raiders hit six bombs in all in the first half, compared to just one for Denver. Although Pratt nailed a long jumper at the halftime buzzer, the Pioneers went into the locker room down 27-19.

Both teams traded baskets for the first 4:01 of the second half, with MT extending its lead by one point to 34-25. John Humphrey then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Blue Raiders to a 41-29 cushion with 13:14 to play. Middle Tennessee grew the lead to as many as 15 points before freshman guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash. / Ferris HS) hit back-to-back 3-pointers of his own to trim the lead to 56-45 with 3:25 left. Yet Bryant Mitchell hit a pair of free throws after a key Blue Raider offensive rebound to put the game away.

"I think we came out with a lot of intensity tonight, especially on the defensive end," said head coach Terry Carroll. "But when the shots didn't fall, we let that affect our play further at both ends of the floor. We weren't setting screens and were doing a lot of 1-on-1 play. Our defense kept us in the game. It's disappointing to really get after someone on their home floor, but we weren't aggressive at all."

The Pioneers return to Denver for their final home game in two days, this Monday, Feb. 18, against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Pioneers' four seniors - Wahhab Carter, Phillip Heath, Sherman Rochell, and Tyrone Turner - will be honored before the 7 p.m. tipoff at Magness Arena during Senior Night festivities.