MIDWAY, Ky. -- After suffering a tough loss to IU Southeast (Ind.) over the weekend, the Midway men's basketball team returned to the friendly confines of Marshall Gymnasium on Tuesday (Jan. 24) when they welcomed West Virginia Tech to town.

In a game that saw four ties and seven lead changes, the Eagles would take a narrow three-point lead into the locker room before hanging on in the second half for a 66-58 victory. The win was Midway's first-ever victory over West Virginia Tech.

With the win, Midway improves to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in River States Conference play, while the Golden Bears fall to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in league play following the loss.

The game got off to a bit of a slow start after neither team scored for the opening two-plus minutes. Trailing 3-0, the Eagles answered with a quick 8-0 run that saw them take an 8-3 lead less than five minutes into the contest.

Nick Keeton (Paintsville, Ky.) kickstarted the run with a layup, while Tobias Thompson (Louisville, Ky.) converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) later capped the 8-0 spurt after swishing home a triple.

After a near four-minute scoring drought by both squads, the Golden Bears found themselves with a 19-17 lead with 5:43 left in the first half. TJ O'Connor (Miami, Fla.) then drained a trey before Donovan Morris (Lexington, Ky.) capped a 7-0 run with a three of his own to help give his team a 28-25 lead at intermission.

The second half saw Donnie Miller takeover scoring 23 of Midway's 38 points. The junior guard hit 9-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

With his team facing their largest deficit of the contest at 42-36 with 12:29 left, Miller nailed a jump shot to help kickstart an 11-0 run that saw Midway take a 47-42 lead forcing the Golden Bears to call a quick timeout. O'Connor also helped key the run hitting a jumper and nailing a three-pointer to cap the rally.

West Virginia Tech cut the deficit to as little as one with just under seven minutes remaining, but Miller hit a layup and Thompson added a tip-in extending the lead back to five. The Eagles never once relinquished the lead down the stretch as they held on for the 66-58 victory.

Miller led the way for the Eagles as he notched his fourth 30-point game of the season. The junior poured in 33 points hitting 13-of-24 from the floor in the win. O'Connor also reached double figures with 10 points in 22 minutes off the bench.

The Eagles won the rebounding battle 40-38 thanks in part to the trio of Thompson, Keeton, and Will VanHook (West Palm Beach, Fla.). Thompson pulled down a team-high nine boards, while Keeton and VanHook each hauled in eight rebounds apiece.

Midway is set to return to action on Saturday (Jan. 28) when they host Alice Lloyd (Ky.) at 3 p.m. ET inside Marshall Gymnasium.

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