Bitter rivals Midway and Hobbton met up on the hardwood on Thursday night in non-conference basketball action. In a game where the action was a lot closer than the score indicated, the Raiders – particularly senior Luke Strickland – got hit from beyond the arc and plowed their way forward for a 58-35 victory.
In the first quarter, the game was close in the early going as the scoring was relatively low. Hobbton took an early lead on a pair of free throws by Jordan Pearsall. Cameron Barefoot and Jaden Covington came back down the other end, however, and sunk a pair of three-balls to hand the 6-2 lead to Midway. Pearsall sent home two more points on a layup to make it 6-4 but from there Midway scored 7-unanswered to make it 13-4. At the end of the first quarter, Midway clung to a 13-8 lead.
The second quarter proved to be the turning point of the game.
The Raiders mounted a 14-1 run to start the quarter off, led by a solo offensive spurt by Strickland. Barefoot got things started with a layup followed by layups from Covington and Thornton Baggett. In the mix, the Wildcats had made one free throw and the score sat at 19-9. Strickland then hit his little spurt, sinking two three-balls and converting a steal into two points to make it 27-9. Evan Hope sunk a layup but with Hobbton only tallying five second quarter points, Midway had opened up a big lead at the half with a 31-13 score.
Out of the break, Tyler Godwin sent the Raider lead over the 20-point margin with a layup off a rebound and a made free throw. Thornton Baggett pushed Midway’s lead further with another basket, making it 36-13 in favor of the Raiders. From there, however, Hobbton came charging back. The Wildcats suddenly caught fire and went on a 14-2 run to close out the third quarter. Pearsall, Daniel Britt, Keelssyn Martinez, and Jaelyn Holliday highlighted the charge that eventually got the deficit back under double-digits at 38-29 early in the fourth quarter.
That was as close as the Wildcats could claw back, however, as Strickland and the Raiders mounted another charge of their own. Godwin converted a layup, and a pair of threes by Mickael Barrow and Thornton Baggett capped an 8-0 run that saw Midway back out front at 43-29. After a pair of free throws by Hobbton, Godwin, Barrow, and Strickland continued to put distance between themselves and the Wildcats as the lead was right back over 20-points at 56-33.
After that, the scoring really slowed over the final 3:18 as Midway went on for the win at 58-35.
Leading the way for Midway was Strickland with 15 points followed by Thornton Baggett with 12. Godwin followed close behind with eight points, followed by Barrow with seven. Barefoot and Covington had five apiece, followed by Wyatt Holland with four and Brandon Cousar with two.
For Hobbton, Pearsall led the Wildcats – and all scorers – with 16 points followed by Hope with six, and Martinez with five. Britt and Jackson Weeks had three points and Holliday had two points.
Hobbton, now 0-2, will return to action on Tuesday with a home game against James Kenan while Midway, now 3-1, travelled to Lakewood on Friday night. A full rundown from that game can be found in Tuesday’s edition.
