MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- — Jestin Porter had 29 points in Middle Tennessee's 81-64 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday night.

Porter also had four steals for the Blue Raiders (12-5, 3-1 Conference USA). Essam Mostafa added 22 points while shooting 10 of 12 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line while he also had nine rebounds. Torey Alston shot 5 of 6 from the field and 1 of 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 11 points.

The Gamecocks (9-7, 1-2) were led in scoring by Jaron Pierre Jr., who finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Jacksonville State also got 11 points and 10 rebounds from Michael Houge. Marcellus Brigham Jr. had nine points and three steals.

Middle Tennessee took the lead with 19:48 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 37-27 at halftime, with Porter racking up 14 points. Porter scored 15 points in the second half to help lead the way as Middle Tennessee went on to secure a victory, outscoring Jacksonville State by seven points in the second half.

Middle Tennessee takes on Western Kentucky at home on Saturday, and Jacksonville State hosts Louisiana Tech on Thursday.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.