Raiders on a roll

The Midway and Rosewood boys finished off the night in Wednesday’s late game, duking it out in a rematch from last week’s game in which the Raiders secured the victory. This time around, Midway utilized a strong third quarter performance to blow by the Eagles and secure a 49-37 victory.

The action was fast-paced at the start of the game but turnovers and missed shots were the results. Rosewood got the game’s first basket two minutes into the game as the Raiders struggled to get going. Kemari McNeil finally got Midway on the board with a three-pointer and the lead was 3-2 for the Raiders at the halfway mark. Later, McNeil added a free throw as after another Eagles bucket, the score was tied 4-4. From there, a battle ensued but Rosewood led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter.

An Eagles three-ball kicked off the start of the second quarter as they built an 11-6 advantage. Both offenses were spinning their tires as that score sat idle for a while. At the 4:33 mark, the Raiders whistled for timeout, trailing 13-6 and enduring a Rosewood 9-0 run. The stoppage in play didn’t help as Midway committed yet another turnover on their next possession. With half of the quarter gone, the Raiders were still scoreless before McNeil hit a free throw at the 3:40 mark to end the drought. Then, in spite of their struggles, Midway was hanging around, now trailing 15-13 after a McNeil three-ball. Just before the buzzer, McNeil flushed another three-pointer, tying the game up at 16-16 at halftime.

The Raiders came out hot in the second half, getting a quick three-pointer and another layup. Midway continued to surge, now riding a 15-0 run to build their lead to 28-16 while holding Rosewood scoreless throughout the first five minutes of the third quarter. Then, after back-to-back takeaways, they made it a 19-0 run, leading 32-16 to force an Eagles timeout with 2:29 left in the third quarter. The Raiders turned in an impressive performance in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 21-1 to lead 37-17.

With now a 20-point advantage, all Midway really had to do was protect. Throughout the first four minutes, that’s what they did, holding a 42-19 lead. A Rosewood three-ball made it 42-22 and there was a timeout on the court with time slipping away. Still, the Eagles were trying to claw their way back in. A trio of three-pointers yielded a 9-0 run for Rosewood, which made the score 42-28 with 3:09 to go. At that rate, a Raider victory wasn’t locked up. Then, a Midway turnover and a continued flurry of Eagles three-pointers made it an 11 point game at 42-31. The Raiders, though, settled in an offense to work the clock. Late in the game, they felt comfortable enough to put the reserve players in but the Eagles continued to launch three-pointers. With 40 seconds left, the lead was 45-34 with Midway having possession. At the final horn, the Raiders held on for the victory, winning 49-37.

Leaders for Midway were McNeill and Travis Gist, each with 13 points. Graham had eight points and Tanner Williams had four points. Landon Hammond had three points, and Tripp Westbrook, Jacob Holland, Walker Holmes, and Everette Jackson all had two points.

Midway, 9-2 overall, was slated to kick off conference play on Friday night, hosting Fairmont. However due to potential bad weather, the game was rescheduled for Tuesday Jan. 16.