PARAGOULD, Ark. -- After suffering back-to-back losses to nationally ranked opponents, the Midway men's basketball team returned to their winning ways on Friday with a win over Ecclesia (Ark.) in their first of two games in the Pioneer Classic hosted by Crowley's Ridge (Ark.).

Midway was led by a balanced scoring attack with six players reaching double figures as they cruised to the 94-77 win over the Royals for their third victory of the season.

The Eagles were also helped by a season-best 52.1 shooting performance hitting 37-of-71 from the floor. They also hit six triples in the win shooting 28.6 percent from downtown.

Kwon Evans (Louisville, Ky.) led the way with 14 points, while DJ Lujan (Phoenix, Ariz.) turned in his best outing of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Kaleb Britt (Bowling Green, Ky.) and Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) each added 12 points with Miller hitting 6-of-9 from the floor, while Recardo Travis (Louisville, Ky.) and Luke Thorburg (Phoenix, Ariz.) chipped in 10 points apiece.

The Royals – who fell to 1-10 on the season with the loss – tied the game at two in the early going, but the Eagles responded with a 17-4 run stretching their lead to double digits at 19-6 for the first time.

Travis then hit two of his three triples before Derrick Strong (West Monroe, La.) hit a trey as Midway's lead grew to its largest of the game at 40-14 with 4:42 left in the first half.

Ecclesia attempted to cut into the deficit, but six straight points from Krizell Mitchell (Detroit, Mich.) followed by a bucket from Will Hudson (Calhoun, Ky.) gave Midway a 48-26 lead at intermission.

The Eagles would continue to hold a lead of at least 18 points throughout the second half before the Royals cut the deficit to 15 late in the second half, but Midway would hold on for the comfortable 94-77 victory.

Midway held the Royals to just 36.2 percent shooting for the game overall, while they hit 9-of-25 from downtown for 36 percent. The Eagles also owned a 47-30 edge in rebounds which included 14 offensive rebounds leading to 17 second chance points.

Miller and Travis led the scoring attack off the bench, while Krizell Mitchell turned in his best performance of the season. The junior forward chipped in nine points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. The Blue and Gold finished the game getting 44 points from their bench.

Joe Krupinski's team will wrap up their trip to Paragould, Ark. on Saturday when they take on Crowley's Ridge in their final game of the Pioneer Classic at 4 p.m. ET.

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