MIDWAY, Ky. - Facing a nationally ranked team in its first official game in 25 days, the Midway men's basketball team looked sluggish in its River States Conference opener, losing 77-59 to No. 23 Rio Grande (Ohio) Wednesday night.

The Eagles trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half against a 9-1 Red Storm team that had entered the national rankings earlier in the afternoon.

The game was still close at the halfway point of the first half, the Eagles even tying the score at 18 on a Jalen Cincore layup with 9:18 remaining until halftime.

Cincore, a preseason All-River States selection, saw the court for the first time following a preseason foot injury, recording 10 points and a team-high six rebounds in 26 minutes.

But that was immediately followed by an 11-0 Rio run, and a balanced offense that had four players score in double-figures prevented Midway from mounting any sort of serious comeback.

Travontae Swift was the only other Eagle to score in double figures, chipping in 11 off the bench.

The loss dropped Midway to 2-5 on the year and snapped a four-game winning streak in conference openers. 

The Eagles are back to non-conference play for nearly a month, starting on Friday with a 3 p.m. in-state road matchup against Campbellsville.