Middle Tennessee State beats Denver 59-49

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Jones scored 21 points as Middle Tennessee State overcame a poor shooting effort to beat Denver 59-49 on Saturday night.

The Blue Raiders (9-11, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference) trailed 31-28 with 15:25 left in the second half, but a 15-2 run put Middle Tennessee in front 43-33 with 10:39 to go.

Middle Tennessee shot just 37.7 percent from the field (20 of 53) compared to 53.3 percent (16 of 30) for the Pioneers (10-10, 6-1). But the Blue Raiders scored 22 points off 20 turnovers to maintain their lead.

Chase Hallam scored 17 points, Chris Udofia added 11 and Brian Stafford 10 for the Pioneers, whose eight-game losing streak ended.

James Washington III added 13 points for Middle Tennessee, which shot just 21.7 percent from the floor (5 of 23) in the first half.

The Blue Raiders outrebounded Denver 32-22 and posted a 16-1 scoring edge on second-chance points.