Collin Woods pulls up for a jump shot.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
In the late game on Friday, the Midway boys set out to do work against the No. 1 team in the SAC-6, West Bladen. The Knights pummeled the Raiders in their first meeting, so Midway was gunning for an upset and the sweet taste of revenge. That wasn’t meant to be, though, as West Bladen slammed the door on the Raiders, winning 74-34.
Ke’Mari McNeill got the first bucket of the game, ending an early drought from both teams. After West Bladen tied the game up, McNeill tallied again, putting the Raiders ahead 4-2 at the 4:00 mark. Consecutive 3-point plays for the Knights, though, propelled them to an 8-4 lead in a hurry. They advanced their lead to 11-5, yielding the first timeout of the game from Midway at the 1:19 mark. Out of the break, a made 3-ball from the Knights pushed the lead to 14-5, but Wyatt Herring made a triple just before the horn to make it 14-8.
10 unanswered points for West Bladen is how the second quarter started as their lead eclipsed double-digits. Midway finally broke their run with a pair of free throws from Travis Gist, but they still trailed 24-10 halfway through the quarter. The Knights simply looked like a well-oiled machine as they took control of the game and quickly put some space between themselves and the Raiders. Impressive middleman Chase Williams led the charge as the Knights quickly reached a 20-point lead. By halftime, they led 39-17.
The third quarter marked another big one for West Bladen, as the Knights were approaching the 40-point mercy rule threshold. They were simply too dominant for the Raiders to handle, as the lead reached 63-27 by the end of the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, West Bladen flirted with the 40-point lead, but never quite crossed it. At the 5:00 mark, Midway cleared their bench and put all secondary players on the floor. About a minute later, the Knights followed suit and the pace of the game slowed down. With one final gasp of offense, West Bladen hit the 40-point threshold and staked the win, 74-34.
Scorers for Midway were Travis Gist, Herring, and McNeill all with seven points. Walker Holmes contributed five, Colin Woods had four, and Anthony Graham and Landon Hammond had two.
With the loss, the Raiders are now 13-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play. They’ll wrap up regular season play this week with a road trip to Red Springs on Tuesday and a home game against St. Pauls on Friday.