Clinton’s Anyahs Butler cuts through Raider traffic looking for a layup opportunity as Tanner Williams applies heavy defense.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Raider Tanner Williams attacks the goal on an open-look layup.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Midway’s Travis Gist attacks the basket through the lane.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Dark Horse Henry Bass drives the lane amidst heavy pressure from Walker Holmes and Tanner Williams.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Midway and Clinton wrapped up their regular season head-to-head matchups on Friday night, with the Raiders looking to storm into the corral at Clinton High School and complete the season sweep. This atmosphere was an electric one when the two squads took the court, but by the time the final horn rangm it was Midway that claimed victory, winning 52-38.
Clinton came out and took a quick two-score lead following buckets from Taylen Moore and Anyahs Butler. Down on the other end, Travis Gist hit a three-pointer for Midway and later, a free throw by Anthony Graham tied it up at 4-4. After that, the action moved at a rapid pace and the lead switched hands a couple times. Just before the end of the first quarter, some drama unfolded on the court that resulted in a pair of technicals being tossed out. The Raiders made a pair of free throws before the final horn and led 11-8 headed into the second quarter.
The first couple minutes of the second quarter didn’t yield any points and at the 5:37 point, Midway called for timeout still leading 11-8. The intensity from early in the game that culminated in the technical fouls had, at least for the moment, simmered down for a moment and quelled the crowd just a tad and both teams continued to face their own share of problems. For Clinton, it was traveling and double-dribble violations that hindered them while down on Midway’s end it was missed shots. Butler finally ended the long scoring drought for the Dark Horses but a three-pointer on the other end by Ke’Mari McNeill countered the points. Another three by Gist made it 16-10 Midway before Anthony Graham banked in a shot to make it 18-10 with 3:03 left before the half. A made free throw from Zy Wallace ended the Raiders’ run and the clock dipped below 1:00 to go. Then, Garrison Hill hit a three-pointer right before the half for Clinton, making it 20-14 at halftime.
A quick five-point spurt was how Midway started the second half. The Dark Horses settled in and matched the Raiders’ efforts, but the threes were falling for Midway as they hit another one to make it 33-20. As the quarter moved along, foul trouble began to take its toll on the Dark Horses and the Raiders spent more time on the line. Their lead stayed largely unchanged down the stretch in the third quarter and when the quarter ended, Midway led 41-26.
With the game in the fourth quarter, Clinton did their best to mount a comeback but couldn’t quite hit a substantial run. A few times the lead dipped below the double-digit threshold but the Raiders always had a response. Unable to make much of a run back into the game, the final tally rested at the margin of 52-38.
Leading scorers for Midway were Gist with 17 and McNeill with 13.
For Clinton, they were led by Butler with 12 points, Moore with eight points, and Henry Bass with six points.
With the win, Midway is now 13-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play. They have a pair of home games this week, first up against Fairmont on Tuesday and then against West Bladen on Friday.
For Clinton, they drop to 3-16 overall and 0-6 in league play. They hosted Wallace-Rose Hill on Monday, and will travel to West Bladen on Tuesday and host Red Springs on Friday.