Travis Gist soars through the lane for a layup.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
For the Midway boys, Friday night was a fantastic night, as they throttled the visiting St. Pauls Bulldogs in convincing fashion. After the Senior Night festivities concluded between games, the Raiders enjoyed a successful night on the court, taking down St. Pauls 69-38.
St. Pauls grabbed the opening tip and went right to work. They converted a 3-point play right off the bat and took an early 3-0 lead. Down on the other end, Travis Gist missed converting his 3-point chance, but Anthony Graham grabbed the rebound and laid it back in for two more, putting the Raiders ahead 4-2. The lead changed hands a couple of times, but Midway gained some steam and went ahead 10-7 and with possession. The Raiders extended their lead to 13-7 before a free throw disrupted their run, but Gist went back to the line, looking to add to their advantage. At the end of the first quarter, Midway led 18-8.
The Bulldogs entered the second quarter with a little streak, taking the Raiders’ lead down into single digits. Midway responded, hitting a little streak of their own to push their lead to 27-14, producing a timeout from St. Pauls at the 4:00 mark. The score parked there for a minute as the offenses dried up. A free throw from the Bulldogs finally changed the score, and with 1:28 left before the half, there was a timeout on the court with the Raiders leading 27-15. That score held up as the teams broke for halftime.
When the second half began, Midway got things started in style as Gist converted an and-1 to push the Raiders’ lead 30-15. From there, Midway really took control as they hit a 10-2 run to take a 40-17 lead at the 2:32 mark. The story for St. Pauls was how cold they were from the floor. The Bulldogs couldn’t buy a point — layups and even free throws were badly missing as the Midway lead continued to grow. After a Landon Hammond and-1, the Raiders led 43-19. By the end of the period, Midway was firmly in control, leading 47-20.
The Raiders weren’t letting up at the start of the fourth period as their lead surged into the thirties at 51-20. Missed shots were absolutely pummeling St. Pauls as they continued to struggle to get anything to fall. Midway, on the other hand, could do no wrong. They went deep in their bench, giving players considerable court time and offensive production. The Bulldogs simply had no answer as the Raider lead peaked at 33 points. In the end, it was a great night for the Midway faithful as they watched their Raiders capture the 69-38 victory.
Leading the way for Midway was Gist with 15 points and Hammond with 10. Graham and Ke’Mari McNeill had nine points each and Wyatt Herring chipped in seven. Colin Woods had five points and Everett Jackson and Walker Holmes each had four points. Rounding out the scoring were Carson Tew and Alex Parker each with three points.
With the win, Midway wraps up the regular season at 15-5 overall and 6-4 in conference play. They will begin postseason play this week in the SAC-6 conference tournament.