Basketball is back in the 'Boro! For the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, its return could not have come any sweeter.

After a disappointing 2023-24 season and a long offseason of rebuilding, the Blue Raiders are back and kicking the season off with a victory over Division III, Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels. For Nick McDevitt and company, it was never in doubt.

Beginning with the box score, it was a dazzling display from Jestin Porter, who was selected as a favorite to make the All-Conference USA first team. Porter was highly efficient and effective in this game, scoring 20 points in 27 minutes on 6-9 shooting (66%), five of his six made attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Porter also brought down two defensive boards and a steal. As the leading scorer, it is truly a performance worth celebrating for Jestin Porter.

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the game was from transfer center Essam Mostafa, who hails from Cairo, Egypt. Mostafa is a physical specimen in the post, towering at 6’9 and weighing in at 250 lbs.

He let his physical dominance show, scoring 14 points on 6-8 shooting (75%) and bringing in 10 rebounds, good for a double-double. Mostafa also had three steals and one block to go along with the performance. Comparable to that of former Wooden Award winner and Kentucky Wildcats standout Oscar Tshiebwe, Mostafa is set to be a force of dominance on the boards for the Blue Raiders this year.

Freshman wing Torey Alston was another major contributing factor in the opener, bringing in 11 points on 5-10 shooting (50%) and bringing in 13 rebounds, which was good for another Blue Raider double-double.

A returning Camryn Weston, who was labeled as a preseason All-Conference USA first-teamer, put forth a strong showing as well, scoring 12 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting in addition to seven assists on the night. Weston, of course, was sidelined with an ACL tear early last season and made his return to the lineup for the first time in nearly a year.

After the game, head coach Nick McDevitt was clearly pleased with the effort his team provided in the season-opening victory. He also made it known that this team will play its best ball coming out of transition, signaling that the ball handlers will drive his offense, specifically with Weston.

"What you see on game day, that's not them saving it for games. If you come and watch us practice in the mornings, that's what those two guys look like."

MTSU now looks towards Saturdays at 6 PM as they travel to the Lone Star State to take on Abilene Christian in the WAC/C-USA Challenge.