PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- After learning their postseason fate over the weekend, the Midway men's basketball team hit the hardwood on Wednesday when they battled Point Park (Pa.) in the River States Conference Tournament Quarterfinals at CCAC Allegheny in Pittsburgh.

Midway faced an eight-point deficit at halftime and would trail by as many as 11 in the second half, but they rallied and took a two-point lead late in the game. Unfortunately for the Eagles, their valiant effort came up short as Point Park escaped with the 78-76 victory.

With the loss, the Eagles see their season come to an end as they finish the year with a 16-12 record. Their 16 wins are tied for the most in a single season in program history.

The first meeting saw Point Park record a dominant 78-57 victory as they held the Eagles to a 35.8 percent shooting performance for the game. This time around was a different story as Midway shot 50 percent for the contest.

The two squads traded blows to open the game before Point Park took a 25-15 lead following a 6-0 run. They pushed their lead to five late in the half, but Midway managed to get within one.

A jumper by Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) and a layup by Rico Tate (Memphis, Tenn.) got the Eagles within one, 36-35, but Point Park quickly responded with a 9-2 run to close the half and take an eight-point lead at intermission.

Midway shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the first half as Miller and Tate led the way with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Point Park also shot over 50 percent, registering a 51.4 percent shooting performance for the opening 20 minutes.

The Pioneers got the second half off to a solid start as they pushed their lead to its largest of the contest at 59-48 with just under 16 minutes remaining. The Eagles slowly chipped away as their effort on the defensive end got them back in the game.

The Eagles held Point Park without a field goal for over four minutes as the visitors cut the deficit to 67-64 before Will VanHook (West Palm Beach, Fla.) swished home a three-pointer and TJ O'Connor (Miami, Fla.) nailed a mid-range jumper giving Midway a 69-67 lead with 5:34 left.

The Eagles later trailed 75-71 with 3:20 remaining, but O'Connor came off a screen and nailed a triple before Miller added a bucket of his own that gave the visitors a 76-75 lead with 2:30 left.

Midway had a chance to extend their lead to three before having one last chance to force overtime trailing 78-76 with five seconds remaining. Unfortunately for the Eagles, their last second shot was swatted away as Point Park held on for the 78-76 victory.

Donnie Miller led the way for the Eagles with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Rico Tate chipped in 18 points and seven boards. Nick Keeton (Paintsville, Ky.), who hit 7-of-8 from the floor, notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

The loss, unfortunately, marks the final time in a Midway uniform for Ridge Hall (New Pekin, Ind.), TJ O'Connor, and Rico Tate.

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