MIDWAY, Ky. -- After falling to nationally ranked Georgetown (Ky.) in their final tune-up before opening league play, the Midway men's basketball team hosted Oakland City (Ind.) on Tuesday night in their River States Conference opener inside Marshall Gymnasium.

The Eagles – who were down a couple of starters – would take a 31-24 lead into the locker room only to see the Mighty Oaks cut the deficit to one with 13 minutes left. Midway, however, withstood the Oakland City rally and held on for the 64-55 victory.

With the win, Joe Krupinski's squad improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while the Mighty Oaks suffer their first loss of the season falling to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in RSC play.

The game was a back-and-forth battle to start as Oakland City seized control early taking a quick 10-6 lead. TJ O'Connor (Miami, Fla.) then drained a couple of threes, while Will VanHook (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Tobias Thompson (Louisville, Ky.) added back-to-back layups as part of a 10-0 run that saw Midway take a 16-10 advantage.

O'Connor had the hot hand in the first half scoring 16 points as he hit 6-of-13 from the floor. He later in the half sank back-to-back long balls as Midway stretched their lead to its largest of the game at 29-17 with just over four minutes left in the half.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they went cold to close the half. The Mighty Oaks held the home team without a point for the final 3:43 as the visitors closed the half on a quick 5-0 run cutting the deficit to 31-24 at intermission.

After the two teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half, the Mighty Oaks cut the deficit to 35-34 on the heels of an 8-0 run. Oakland City would stay close from that point on, but the Eagles never once relinquished their lead.

The Eagles saw Oakland City cut the deficit to 46-44 with 4:44 left, but Creshaun Brown (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Thompson hit back-to-back layups pushing the lead back to six. Brown later swished home a triple to help his team seal the 64-55 victory.

Brown led the way for the Eagles with 17 points off the bench. He also grabbed five rebounds, while O'Connor tossed in his 16 points. VanHook, meanwhile, turned in one of the best games of his career finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

Nick Keeton (Paintsville, Ky.) led the rebounding effort for the Blue and Gold with 13 rebounds as Midway outrebounded the visitors 41-39. Neither team shot it particularly well with Midway holding the upper hand shooting 40 percent compared to 36.8 percent by the Mighty Oaks.

Krupinski's team is set to return to the hardwood on Saturday (Nov. 19) when they travel to Brescia (Ky.). Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET in Owensboro.

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