Blue Raiders drop 63-51 decision at Denver

DENVER - Middle Tennessee fell behind early and was never able to fully recover in a 63-51 setback at Denver Thursday night.

Desmond Yates led Middle Tennessee with 12 points and also pulled five rebounds and Nigel Johnson tallied 10 points and was the only other Blue Raider with double figures. Demetrius Green and Kevin Kanaskie each scored nine. Montarrio Haddock finished with five points, six rebounds and five assists.

Middle Tennessee (14-9, 8-4) fell behind 9-1 five minutes into the game and never got closer than six the remainder of the way. The Blue Raiders trailed 35-23 at the half and Denver stretched the lead to 13, 40-27, with 16:49 remaining before Middle Tennessee staged a comeback.

The Blue Raiders cut the lead to six, 49-43, on Green's layup with 7:35 remaining but they could never get closer than six and Denver eventually pulled away to secure the win.

Middle Tennessee returns to action when they play at Houston Baptist Saturday.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.