Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Middle Tennessee St. Blue Raiders Match Player Stats On Mar 01, 2018

Walters also added 11 rebounds for the Blue Raiders (24-5, 16-1 C-USA) to finish with his third double-double, while Antwain Johnson chipped in 17 points. Giddy Potts tallied 11 and tied a program record by winning his 99th career game.

Lamonte Bearden paced the Hilltoppers (22-8, 14-3) with a game-high 24 points. Justin Johnson netted 14 to go along with seven rebounds, but the duo didn't get enough help from their teammates.

It was the 11th straight win for Middle Tennessee, which started the streak in January with a 66-62 win at Western Kentucky. This one wasn't nearly as close, as the Blue Raiders led for all but 1:20 and pushed the margin up to 23 points in the final minute.

The Hilltoppers ran with Middle Tennessee for the first 11 minutes, taking a 24-22 lead when Bearden drained a jumper. But the Blue Raiders rattled off the next eight points, King dunking for a 30-24 advantage at the 7:31 mark.

Bearden canned two foul shots with 2:24 left to draw Western Kentucky within 34-32, but Middle Tennessee closed the half on a 9-2 spurt. Johnson converted a 3-pointer as time expired for a 43-34 halftime lead.

The Hilltoppers never got closer than nine in the second half. When they did, the Blue Raiders promptly scored seven of the next eight points. King made a free throw with 10:28 remaining for a 60-45 lead, and the game's remainder was a race to the final horn, after which Middle Tennessee cut down the nets.

Middle Tennessee canned 55 percent of its field goal attempts, including 9 of 20 from 3-point range, and outboarded Western Kentucky 34-28. The Hilltoppers made only 44.4 percent from the field and just 2 of 10 from the 3-point arc.

--Field Level Media