CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio -- After recording a forfeit victory on Thursday for their eighth win of the season, the Midway men's basketball returned to the hardwood for the first time in over two weeks on Saturday (Jan. 15) for a league matchup at Ohio Christian University.

The Eagles held a seven-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, but over the final 7:30 they got outscored 18-6 as the Trailblazers took a 29-24 lead at halftime before holding on for the 77-68 victory.

Following the loss, Joe Krupinski's squad drops to 8-5 overall and 2-4 in River States Conference play, while the Trailblazers improve to 3-12 overall and 2-5 and league play with the win.

Both teams struggled offensively as they both struggled to shoot 45 percent from the floor, while neither shot 15 percent from behind the arc. The big disparity came at the free throw line where Ohio Christian hit 24-of-28 whereas Midway hit just one of their nine attempts.

The Eagles held a slight advantage shooting 45.7 percent from the floor, while the Trailblazers shot 44.8 percent. Ohio Christian, meanwhile, held a 26-8 edge in bench points as both teams combined to shoot just 4-of-34 from behind the arc.

Alex Hofer (Seymour, Ind.) scored six early points before Raekwon Evans (Louisville, Ky.) and Recardo Travis (Louisville, Ky.) connected on back-to-back jumpers giving the Eagles an 18-11 lead with seven minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

From that point on, however, the Eagles went cold scoring just six points over the final 7:30 of the opening stanza. Midway shot just 3-of-12 from the floor and committed five turnovers down the stretch as they got outscored 18-6 with the home team took a 29-24 at intermission.

Midway opened the second half with back-to-back jumpers cutting the deficit to one before using a 6-0 run a couple of minutes later to tie the game at 34 less than four minutes into the half.

The Eagles would tie the game on two more occasions at 38 and 40, but they were unable to take the lead as Ohio Christian would lead by as many as 15 down the stretch before cruising to the 77-68 victory.

Three players reached double figures to lead the Blue and Gold led by Raekwon Evans who notched another double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Cory Gardner (Owensboro, Ky.) scored 18 points and shot 9-of-14 from the floor, while Recardo Travis added 15 points.

Midway is now scheduled to return to action on Tuesday (Jan. 18) when they host Brescia (Ky.) at 7:30 p.m. ET in Marshall Gymnasium.

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