MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- Marcus Morrison scored 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting to lead Middle Tennessee to an 82-69 victory over Florida International on Saturday night.
The Blue Raiders (14-9, 4-5 Sun Belt Conference) never trailed in the second half, and Florida International (8-13, 1-7) never came within a basket after the 15:34 mark.
The Golden Panthers tied the game at 30 with 18:58 to play on a free throw by Ivan Almonte, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. But Middle Tennessee went on a 9-3 run to take a lead that the Blue Raiders never extended beyond 13 points.
A 3-pointer by Junior Matias, who finished 7-of-11 from 3-point range, made it 75-69 with 47 seconds left, but the Golden Panthers didn't score again.
Middle Tennessee's Mike Dean scored 18 points, Bryan Smithson had 13 and Michael Cuffee added 10.
Matias finished with 30 points, while Ismael N'Diaye scored 10 for Florida International.
