PIPPA PASSES, Ky. - Entering a favorable portion of its schedule looking to improve its chances at a River States Conference Tournament berth, the Midway men's basketball team took a positive first step towards achieving that goal at Alice Lloyd Saturday.

Jalen Cincore scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Midway pulled away in the second half for a 76-63 win over its Eagle counterpart in Pippa Passes.

Down 19-17 around the halfway point of the first half, Donnie Miller scored a layup and 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to kick-start a 12-0 run that gave Midway a double-digit lead.

Alice Lloyd had a response and even held multiple leads in the second half, including a 45-42 edge on a Brady Nelson 3-pointer, before back-to-back layups by Nick Keeton helped Midway re-take a lead it would never give back.

Another Keeton basket off a putback then began a 9-2 surge that ended with Midway holding a comfortable 61-50 edge. Keeton finished with 12 rebounds, helping the Eagles finish the game with a 47-36 advantage on the glass.

He was also one of five Midway players to score at least nine points, with Cincore leading that charge, supplementing his 73 percent shooting performance from the floor by going 4-of-5 from the foul line.

Miller and Decoreio Smith both had 12 points. Miller led all players with five assists with Smith grabbing seven rebounds. Keeton and Tobias Thompson had nine points each for 6-11 Midway.

Now 4-7 in the RSC, the Eagles have another highly winnable road game at Indiana East (7-13, 3-6) next Saturday at 3 p.m.

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