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Middle Tennessee St beats Western Kentucky 84-74

Jan 23, 2010 - 8:44 PM BOWLING GREEN, Ky.(AP) -- Desmond Yates scored 28 points and became Middle Tennessee State's all-time leading scorer in an 84-74 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday.

Yates passed Robert Taylor with 1,629 career points for the Blue Raiders (11-10, 6-3 Sun Belt Conference), who used an 11-0 run to take a 55-40 lead and pull away from the Hilltoppers (11-8, 4-4).

The Blue Raiders shot 54.2 percent from the floor (26-for-48) and went 9 of 13 from beyond the arc.

James Washington scored 18 points, Montarrio Haddock had 14 and Calvin O'Neil added 11 for Middle Tennessee.

Western Kentucky has lost three straight Sun Belt Conference games since 1998-1999 when they losing four straight. Middle Tennessee beat the Hilltoppers for the first time in Bowling Green since 1977.

Steffphon Pettigrew led Western Kentucky with 22 points and a game-high nine rebounds. A.J. Slaughter had 20 points.