Strong first half sends Grenadiers to easy win over Eagles

NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- After stepping out of River States Conference play earlier in the week, the Midway men's basketball team returned to league play on Saturday (Jan. 21) when they traveled to New Albany, Ind. to battle IU Southeast (Ind.).

The Grenadiers got off to a strong start shooting nearly 60 percent in the opening half before taking a 57-35 lead into the locker room and cruising to the 92-77 victory.

With the loss, Joe Krupinski's squad drops to 11-8 overall and 6-4 in RSC play, while the Grenadiers improve to 11-8 overall and 6-4 in league play with the win.

IU Southeast built a bit of a cushion early on as they used an 8-0 run to break a 2-2 tie. They soon stretched the lead to double figures, but the Eagles stayed within striking distance as they trailed 36-26 with 5:54 left in the opening half.

Midway was held without a field goal for over three minutes as IU Southeast used another 8-0 run to push their lead to 44-26. The home team would eventually take a 57-35 lead into the locker room after closing the opening half with an 8-2 rally.

The Eagles had a productive first half shooting 50 percent, but the Grenadiers torched the nets shooting 58.8 percent from the floor and 58.3 percent from three where they hit 7-of-12. The Blue and Gold were led by Donnie Miller (Newport, Ky.) who netted 17 points in the first half.

Midway slowly chipped away at the deficit early in the second half. Trailing 61-40, Will VanHook (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored six points sparking a 10-0 run that saw the visitors cut the deficit to 11 with just over 14 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for the Eagles that would be as close as they got before the Grenadiers stretched their lead to as many as 23 en route to the 92-77 victory.

Miller led the way for the Eagles scoring a game-high 28 points hitting 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. Tobias Thompson (Louisville, Ky.) added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while TJ O'Connor (Miami, Fla.) chipped in 12 points off the bench.

The Eagles shot 47.2 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from behind the arc, but IU Southeast shot 52.4 percent overall and 47.4 percent from three.

Joe Krupinski's squad will look to bounce back on Tuesday (Jan. 24) when they open a brief two-game homestand by hosting West Virginia Tech. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET inside Marshall Gymnasium.

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