For the record, Middle Tennessee beat Stephen F. Austin, 67-62, in overtime. However, you’d be hard pressed to find a reason how or why it happened.

To start with, Middle Tennessee went 9:10 seconds without a field goal at one point in the first half. That left them with a 31-22 deficit at that break and it seemed insurmountable because of the combination of SFA’s rugged defense and its own offensive inefficiencies.

“It’s certainly hard to win when you do that,’’ said Middle coach Nick McDevitt. “They took us out of our offense.’’

On top of that, the Blue Raiders’ best player and leader, point guard Camryn Weston, was injured when fouled while driving to the hoop in the first half and he never returned. McDevitt didn’t have an update after the game.

Dealing with Austin’s defense was hard enough with Weston. Without him, it was mostly ragged. At the end of regulation, Middle Tennessee had more turnovers (18) than field goals (17).

The Blue Raiders were only able to make 35.7 percent of their shots (20 for 56) and 4 of 14 three-pointers. As a team, they only have five assists. Plus, they have five fewer field goals than SFA.

OK, if you look hard you can find reasons they won.

The Blue Raiders outrebounded Austin 39-29 including 15 offensive rebounds that produced 12 second-change points. They also got to the foul line, making 23 of 33 which offset the field-goal margin.

Defensively, they proved they’re just as tough as SF Austin, forcing 21 turnovers.

Finally, they got a great game off the bench from LIU transfer Jacob Johnson, who played 32 minutes, scored 13 points and didn’t have a turnover. He had a huge basket in the final minutes, driving right and flipped up a half hook that banked in 42 seconds left that helped send the game into OT.

“Our players are winners,’’ said McDevitt. “They found a way to win.’’