Men's basketball wins opener behind buzzer-beater, Wales' record-setting debut
MIDWAY, Ky. - Undermanned and dealing with a pesky opponent, the Midway men's basketball team survived to win a 101-98 overtime thriller against Cincinnati Clermont Saturday, thanks to a buzzer-beating shot by Decoreio Smith and a record-setting debut from Amari Wales.
In a game that featured 19 ties and 18 lead changes, the Cougars put themselves in great position to leave Midway with a win, after Kenyon Gardner put them ahead 85-83 on a putback layup with 12 seconds to play in regulation.
But just as time expired, Smith took a pass from Will VanHook, split two defenders and floated in a shot just over the outreached hand of defender Landon Naylor, which sent the game into overtime.
The back-and-forth continued before Travontae Swift hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the second of which put Midway ahead 93-91 with just under three minutes to play.
The Eagles would lead the rest of the way, but struggles at the free throw line gave UC Clermont a chance to extend the game on the final possession. Fortunately for Midway, an arrant pass resulted in Naylor having to heave a desperation 3-pointer from near half court, which fell short as time expired.
WALES DAZZLES IN DEBUT
Though the team was inconsistent, the Eagles had a steadying force all day in Amari Wales, who put up 35 points in his first game at Midway. Making matters more impressive is that he did it was excellent efficiency, shooting 12-of-15 from the floor.
The 35 points are the most ever scored by a player in his Midway debut. Wales also pulled down six rebounds, second on the team to Miguel Shaw, who scored 16 points off the bench, including a ferocious, alley-oop dunk off an inbounds pass in the second quarter.
Swift and Smith both had 13 points while VanHook had six assists to lead Midway, which has now won three season-openers in a row, scoring over 100 points in each of the last two.
The Eagles will play their next three games away from home, staring with a 5 p.m. game at Fish (Tenn.) next Saturday at 5 p.m.