Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Midway University men's basketball team was back in action on Friday night when they traveled to Point Park (Pa.) after having the last three weeks off to celebrate the holidays.
The Eagles picked up their first victory in the New Year and their second victory in the program's history as they defeated the Pioneers 82-80. Midway moves to 2-12 overall and 2-4 in River States Conference play.
"I am very proud of our team's effort tonight," noted head coach, Joe Krupinski. "We showed a great deal of toughness and played together for 40 minutes."
Slow starts have plagued the Eagles in previous outings, but this time around they flipped the switch. The Eagles sprinted out to a 12 point advantage as they led by a score of 18-6 over the opening eight minutes of the half.
The two teams would battle back and forth and trade baskets, until Brandon Johnson (Louisville, Ky.) nailed a triple that gave Midway a 31-21 edge. Over the final three minutes and 11 seconds in the opening stanza, the Pioneers (5-9, 3-2 RSC) went on a 14-3 spurt to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
Throughout the beginning of the second half, the two teams would continue trade baskets as the game was tied at 62 apiece. Midway rattled off seven unanswered to take a 69-62 led on a bucket by Brandon Maxwell (Leesville, La.), a triple by DJ Townsend (Morehead, Ky.) and a deuce by Johnson.
The Pioneers answered with an 11-0 run of their own including three triples to take a 73-69 lead with just under four minutes remaining. But in a game of runs, the Eagles made one final run that would prove to be the difference.
Trailing by four late, freshman guard, Will Hudson (Calhoun, Ky.) took over. Hudson canned a pair of triples on back-to-back possessions from nearly the same spot on the court to turn a four point deficit into a two point lead.
Hudson's treys ignited what turned out to be a 10-0 run that would give the Eagles a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Maxwell followed up the 3's with a driving layup, while Gerry Milligan (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Townsend each went 1-of-2 at the line giving Midway a 79-73 lead.
Point Park battled back to cut the lead down to two, 80-78, late in the game, but Townsend stepped to the charity stripe and a drained a pair of freebies. PPU added a field goal late, but on the ensuing inbounds, the Eagles were able to run out the final seconds to seal the 82-80 victory.
The Eagles had four players finish in double figures, led by Brandon Johnson who poured in a career-high 25 points. Hudson pitched in with 17 points, while Townsend – who transferred in over the break – finished with 14 in his first game in a Midway uniform.
Brandon Maxwell tallied his third double-double of the season as he finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive end. Freshman, Jake Logsdon (Rumsey, Ky.) chipped in adding eight points and nine boards to help Midway win the rebounding battle 46-41.
"Hopefully we can continue to improve each time out, which we will need to do to compete in the league moving forward," added Krupinski.
The Eagles will have little time to celebrate the win as they are back in action on Saturday, December 7, when they take on Carlow (Pa.) at 4 p.m. ET.
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