The Midway Raiders overcame a sluggish first half in middle school boys basketball action Thursday night to defeat Union 51-20.

The Raiders led 7-5 after a quarter and 22-16 at intermission.

In the second half, Midway coach Michael Buchanan opted to employ a full-court press and that proved to be bad news for the Spartans. The Raider press led to 17 unanswered points and a 43-18 lead at the end of the third quarter. Union was held to just 4 points in the second half.

“There are different facets of the game we’re working on,” explained Buchanan. “We’ve got some kids banged up and we’re trying to see what we’re capable of. We had early success with the press and built on it. We are deeper and quicker than Union and we were able to wear them down.”

Scoring for Midway were: Andre Sankey,10 points; Tyler Pope, 12; Jamarrious Baggett, 5; Larry Blanks, 9; Drake Strickland, 3; Kyle Hawley, 4; Luke Daniels, 3; Jackson Carr, 2; and Matthew Barefoot, 3.

For the Spartans, Sean Daily scored 6 points. Brandon Johnson and Maurice Truitt had 5 each and Javonte Henry added 4.

“It was a good all round team effort,” continued Buchanan. “We just want to get better as a team.”

Midway will travel to Hobbton Monday, while Union hosts Roseboro-Salemburg.