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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — To compete in Conference USA, you must be able to string together consistent performances on a nightly basis. For Middle Tennessee (11-5, 2-1 CUSA), arguably the two best such examples of consistency on a nightly basis have been graduate transfer big man Essam Mostafa and senior Jestin Porter. That consistency was rewarded in a big way tonight as Mostafa tallied a season-high 22 points and had nine rebounds while Porter finished with a season-high 27 points in the Blue Raiders 84-79 win over the Kennesaw State Owls (9-6, 1-1 CUSA).
Mostafa had the hot hand to start the night. The grad transfer was 8-of-11 from the field in the first half for 18 total points and two rebounds. It was a tightly contested first half, however, as the Blue Raiders clung to a three-point lead at the under eight-minute media timeout, only three players had scored for the Blue Raiders to that point: Mostafa (12 points), Porter (12 points) and Torey Alston (four points). With a 28-25 advantage at that point, Middle Tennessee closed out the half trading blows with the Owls to take a 43-39 lead into the locker room.
Both teams had a good first half, offensively, as Kennesaw State shot 47 percent from the field while Middle Tennessee finished at 55 percent shooting. Mostafa’s 18 points led all scorers, while Jestin Porter finished the half with 14 points and an assist for the Blue Raiders and forward Torey Alston contributed four points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Adrian Wooley led Kennesaw State with 11 points and had three rebounds…