Box Score MIDWAY, Ky. -- Following a tough road loss at Ohio Christian University in their last outing, the Midway men's basketball team returned to the friendly confines of Marshall Gymnasium for the first time in a month on Tuesday (Jan. 18) when they hosted the Brescia (Ky.) Bearcats.
The Bearcats scored the opening four points of the contest as they closed the half on a 9-2 run and would take a 35-25 lead into the locker room, but the Eagles came out firing in the second stanza and outscored the Bearcats by 22 en route to claiming the 67-55 victory.
MIDWAY, Ky. -- Following a tough road loss at Ohio Christian University in their last outing, the Midway men's basketball team returned to the friendly confines of Marshall Gymnasium for the first time in a month on Tuesday (Jan. 18) when they hosted the Brescia (Ky.) Bearcats.
The Bearcats scored the opening four points of the contest as they closed the half on a 9-2 run and would take a 35-25 lead into the locker room, but the Eagles came out firing in the second stanza and outscored the Bearcats by 22 en route to claiming the 67-55 victory.
With the win, Joe Krupinski's squad improves to 9-5 overall and 3-4 in River States Conference play, while the Bearcats drop to 5-13 overall and 3-7 in league play.
The start was less than ideal for the Eagles as they didn't score their first points until Raekwon Evans (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down a pair of free throws at the 15:04 mark.
After going 0-for-10 from the floor to open the contest, Recardo Travis (Louisville, Ky.) hit a running layup with 13:58 left in the first half. The senior guard then knocked down a triple from the corner to cut the Bearcat lead to one at the halfway point of the opening stanza.
That would be as close as the home team would get in the first half as the Bearcats scored nine of the final 11 points of the half to take a 35-25 lead into the locker room.
The first half was a struggle for the Blue and Gold as they shot just 32.4 percent overall and a dismal 7.7 percent from three where they hit just one in their 13 attempts. Brescia fared a bit better shooting at a 45.7 percent clip overall, while going 2-of-7 from downtown.
The second half was a much different story for the Eagles as they looked much more energized and active on both ends of the floor. Evans got a putback dunk and Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) knocked down a long trey to help kickstart a 15-4 run that saw Midway take their first lead of the contest at 40-39 with 16:19 left.
After Brescia regained the lead on a Tay Smith jumper, Midway answered with a 16-4 run that saw Cory Gardner (Owensboro, Ky.) score 10 of the 16 points before Nick Keeton (Paintsville, Ky.) capped the rally with an old fashioned three-point play.
Brescia made one last push and cut the lead to eight with 1:20 remaining, but the Eagles responded with a quick 6-0 run as they held on for the 67-55 victory.
Raekwon Evans put together a spectacular performance to lead the Blue and Gold. The fifth-year senior carded 22 points and 17 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Cory Gardner added 12 points and eight boards in 23 minutes off the bench, while Donnie Miller and Recardo Travis each chipped in 10 points in the win.
After a cold shooting first half, Midway heated up and shot 50 percent in the second half and held the Bearcats to 25.7 percent, while forcing the visitors into eight turnovers.
The Eagles are now scheduled to return to action on Thursday (Jan. 20) when they host IU Southeast (Ind.) at 6 p.m. ET. The Grenadiers will look to sweep the season series after winning the first meeting – an 80-72 victory in New Albany back on November 23, 2022.
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