The Midway boys squared off against the Spring Creek Gators in the nightcap on Friday night, concluding play before the Christmas and New Year’s break and opening up East Central Conference play. The Raiders didn’t get off to the best of starts on Friday as they suffered the loss, 69-61.

For Spring Creek, the old rule of “live by the three, die by three” rung true.

In the first quarter, the Gators certainly lived by the three ball. Their first four scores were from beyond the arc while Midway struggled to get their offense going. Looking like a blow out early, six three-point plays aided the Gators to an 18-5 lead after the first quarter.

Midway was down, but the Raiders certainly weren’t out.

The second quarter marked the beginning of a comeback for the Raiders. A pesky scoring drought settled in for the visiting Gators while Midway began to find more success. An “and-1” play by Jamar Autry, a steal by Autry and an assist to Jaden Covington for a layup, and a basket by Bryson Core all fueled a 7-0 run for Midway to make it 18-12.

Suddenly, Spring Creek was dying by the three as any kind of points for the Gators were hard to come by. Midway pulled back to within 21-19 but once again a trio of three balls by Spring Creek saw the margin surge back to 30-21.

At halftime, the score stood at 30-23 in favor of Spring Creek.

In the third quarter, yet another three ball by the Gators kicked off the action as Spring Creek was back ahead by double-digits at 33-23. The teams traded scores as the margin maintained. Spring Creek later led by 11 at 40-29 before leading 48-38 at the end of the period.

Midway was play solid ball, but the Raiders simply couldn’t get any defensive stops to claw back into contention.

That changed, though, throughout the fourth period as Midway once again began to chew into the deficit.

The Raiders mounted an 8-1 run at the start of the fourth quarter that was capped off by another Autry three point play. After converting the free throw, Midway was back to within 49-46 with 7:00 to go.

Later, the Gators were back out in front at 55-50 as they were doing just enough to keep Midway at bay. Another Autry three-pointer, though, spiced things up again in making it 55-53.

The Raiders just couldn’t get over the hurdle, though.

Down the stretch, though, between key baskets and free throws, Spring Creek held Midway off to secure the 69-61 win.

Leading Midway was Autry with 25 points and Core with 16 points. Covington and Carsse Lucas also contributed six apiece.

With the loss, Midway is now 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the East Central Conference. They are back in action on Jan. 4 when they take on Clinton.

Midway’s Carsse Lucas leaps for a layup attempt on Friday.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_MHS-Lucas.jpgMidway’s Carsse Lucas leaps for a layup attempt on Friday. Daron Barefoot | Sampson Independent
Gators thwart comeback effort from Raiders, win 69-61

By Daron Barefoot

Sports Editor

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected]