Men's Basketball unable to crack IU Kokomo defense

MIDWAY, Ky. -- After playing their last four games away from home, the Midway men's basketball team returned to the friendly confines of Marshall Gymnasium on Tuesday (Nov. 29) when they hosted IU Kokomo (Ind.) in a River States Conference matchup.

It was a tough outing for the Midway offense as they struggled to get anything going against IU Kokomo's stifling defense. Midway was within six at halftime, but the Cougars outscored the home team by 11 in the second half en route to the 58-41 victory.

With the loss, the Eagles fall to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in RSC play, while the Cougars improved to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in league play following the victory.

Joe Krupinski's team got off to a quick start in the early going getting a pair of buckets from Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) and a layup from Nick Keeton (Paintsville, Ky.) to grab an early 6-1 lead three minutes in.

The Cougars stayed within striking distance and tied the game at 17 before taking their first lead of the contest on a triple by Evan Kretz with 7:08 left in the first half. Keeton hit a pair of freebies as Midway regained a 22-20 lead, but they were held scoreless from that point on.

IU Kokomo held the Eagles without a point over final 4:15 of the opening frame as they took a 28-22 lead into the locker room after closing the opening 20 minutes on a quick 8-0 run.

A layup by Will VanHook (West Palm Beach, Fla.) got the Eagles within four early in the second half, but the Cougars responded with a 10-0 run that saw them stretch their lead to 42-28. The Eagles tried to get back in the game down the stretch, but never got closer than 13 as IU Kokomo would hang on for the 58-41 victory.

Miller led the way for the Blue and Gold with 14 points, while Keeton notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Tobias Thompson (Louisville, Ky.), meanwhile, added eight points and eight rebounds to go with his five blocked shots.

The Eagles finished the contest shooting a season worst 29.8 percent from the floor. They also connected on 1-of-15 from behind the arc for 6.7 percent. IU Kokomo shot 43.5 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from the three-point line.

Midway is set to return to action on Saturday when they take on St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) at 3 p.m. ET.

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