MIDWAY, Ky. -- Following a comfortable road win over Oakland City (Ind.) earlier in the week, the Midway men's basketball team returned to the hardwood on Saturday (Feb. 4) when they welcomed Brescia (Ky.) inside Marshall Gymnasium in a River States Conference battle.

The Eagles found themselves down by as many as 12 late in the first half, but would cut the deficit to three at the break before pulling away in the second half for the 77-70 victory.

With the win, Joe Krupinski's squad extends their winning streak to four improving to 15-8 overall and 10-4 in league play. Brescia, meanwhile, falls to 9-9 overall and 6-8 in conference play following the loss.

The Blue and Gold got off to a strong start as they led by as many four before getting a jumper by TJ O'Connor (Miami, Fla.) and a triple by Dae'Shawn White (Newport, Ky.) to extend the lead to five, 23-18, with just over nine minutes left in the half.

The Bearcats, however, immediately responded with a 12-0 run turning the five-point deficit into a seven-point advantage. A layup by Nick Keeton (Paintsville, Ky.) and a jumper by Rico Tate (Memphis, Tenn.) helped slow the rally, but Brescia soon began to extend their lead.

Facing a 41-29 deficit with under three minutes to play in the half, Tate hit back-to-back layups to help spark a 9-0 run to close the half. O'Connor then hit a triple from way downtown before Tate added another layup in the final minute to cut the Bearcats' lead to 41-38 at intermission.

Brescia came out strong to start the second half as they extended their lead to seven less than a minute in, but Midway once again answered with a 9-0 run sparked by a trey from Will VanHook (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and a thunderous dunk by Tobias Thompson (Louisville, Ky.).

Following a bit of a seesaw battle, Brescia seemed to regain control holding a 60-55 lead with 10:14 left. Midway battled back and answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead for good.

Tate found Keeton for an open layup to help kickstart the rally before Tate dished out another dime to Thompson who slammed one home. Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) then capped the run with a transition layup forcing Brescia to call a timeout trailing 67-63 with 5:15 left.

Brescia got within two, but Midway hit 6-of-7 at the charity stripe down the stretch to help seal the 77-70 victory.

Five Eagles reached double figures in the win led by Donnie Miller who scored a game-high 19 points. TJ O'Connor added 15 points off the bench, while Rico Tate finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Nick Keeton and Tobias Thompson, meanwhile, were a force on the inside. Keeton just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, while Thompson carded 10 points and eight boards in the win.

Midway is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday (Feb. 7) when they travel to IU Kokomo (Ind.) for a pivotal River States Conference matchup.

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