Reeling from back-to-back buzzer beating losses, the Midway Raiders rematched the Lakewood Leopards on Friday night – one of the teams responsible for one of those fatal daggers. This time, however, the Raiders would finish the job, avoiding a late-game rally from the Leopards and secure a 63-51 victory.
In the first quarter, Midway certainly came out ready to prove a point. They got two quick baskets by Tyler Godwin and Mickael Barrow to go up 4-0, which electrified the Raiders student section while prompting a quick timeout from Lakewood head coach Brandon Powell. Out of the stoppage, the Leopards answered with a three pointer by Tillyon Williams, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Jaden Covington answered back for Midway as their lead grew back to 9-5. From there, the Raiders mounted a 7-2 run and pushed their lead to 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter unfolded much the same as the first one did. Twice the Leopards cut into the Midway lead; once to make it 16-13 and again to make it 20-19. But the Raiders, led by a solid performance from their overall team, had balanced scoring in finding another rally to run their lead back out to 28-19. The half would end with Midway leading 30-23 and possession out of the break.
In the second half, Lakewood got the opening bucket off a steal by JerQuawin Rich, who laid it in to make it 30-25, but consecutive buckets by Thornton Baggett made it 34–25. That lead catapulted when Barrow convert a four-point play to make it 38-26. Lakewood, fueled by a massive block, ignited for a 7-0 run of their own to get back to within 38-33. The atmosphere of the game became quite chaotic as big plays occurred on both side of the ball. Things tightened as the Leopards came storming back by the end of the quarter. As the game shifted into the final period, Midway was clinging to just a 42-39 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the game continued to be a slugfest. The Raiders were doing they could to hold off the Leopards, literally trading score for score. After a pair of free throws by Godwin with 5:05 left, Midway led 48-43. Fouls had climbed up into double-bonus range and Midway took advantage. Perhaps the most crucial moment of the game was a foul against Lakewood that prompted two free throws for the Raiders. However, the Leopards were also tagged with a technical. Wyatt Holland stepped to the line and drained all four free throws that sent Midway’s lead back to double digits at 56-45. Lakewood continued to fight and got back to 58-51, but the Leopards were just unable to overcome the setback as Midway earned revenge in capturing the 63-51 victory.
For Midway, Jaden Covington, Thornton Baggett, Tyler Godwin, and Wyatt Holland all had 10 points. Mickeal Barrow and Lane Baggett added seven points apiece, followed by four from Luke Strickland, three from Cameron Barefoot, and two from Brandon Cousar.
For Lakewood, Tillyon Williams had 15 points and Kaleb James had 14 points. Cu’Wan Williams had eight points, Derrick Mitchell had seven points, Jerquawin Rich had four points and Brenden Joyner had three points.
With the loss, the Leopards are now 1-6 overall and will return to action next Friday against North Duplin.
With the win, Midway is now 4-3 overall and will not be back on the court until after the new year on Jan. 3 against Wallace-Rose Hill.
