Midway basketball welcomed the Sunbright Tigers to Ruff Arena on Tuesday night and those in attendance got to see two great games. After trailing the entire game, the Lady Wave tied it up, 50-50, with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game. But a buzzer-beater layup by Sunbright would give the Lady Tigers the 53-52 win. In the boys’ game, the Wave led most of the first half but a 3-point buzzer-beater gave Sunbright a 31-30 lead going into the half. The Wave would rally in the second half to defeat Sunbright, 66-55.
SORSN joined the girls’ game already in progress and found the Lady Wave trailing 22-9 to the Lady Tigers. Sunbright hit four 3-pointers in the opening quarter to build out the quick lead. Sunbright cooled off in the 2nd quarter meanwhile, the Lady Wave offense was clicking. Six Lady Wave players scored in the quarter to help Midway chip away at the lead before going into the half down 6, 24-30.
Sunbright Lady Tigers came out of the half once again red hot, knocking down three 3’s. Despite the hot shooting, the Lady Wave would outscore Sunbright in the 3rd. Freshman Millie Bacon would score 5 in the quarter to compliment Kyleigh Cawood’s 7. Three other Lady Waves would also score in the quarter and Midway trailed only by 5 entering the final stanza. In the fourth, both teams swapped buckets with Midway gaining momentum with the guard play of Abbie Parks and Cawood. Down 1 with under 15 seconds to go, Midway would inbound the ball from half-court to Cawood who would drive to the paint for a go-head basket, 52-51. But the Midway celebration was short lived. Sunbright would quickly inbounds the ball and with 6.5 seconds left in the game, drive the length of the floor for the game winning layup.
Cawood led the scoring with 17, followed by Parks with 9. Millie Bacon, Tatum Collier and Kali Kile each had 5.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Midway | 9 | 24 | 40 | 52 |
| Sunbright | 22 | 30 | 45 | 53 |
In the boys’ game, Midway’s balanced scoring and ability to withstand Sunbright runs helped Midway sweep the series with the Tigers. Midway got off to a quick start thanks to Brennan Reed knocking down a couple floaters and one from behind the arc. Reed also drew the difficult task of guarding Sunbright’s PF Garrett Rogers. The 6’4” 190lb junior is one of the best players in the region. Midway would have 4 in the scoring column in the opening quarter and would lead 14-11. The teams traded baskets for much of the second quarter. Midway’s Dalton Cowell was automatic from the elbow. The junior knocked down 4 shots in the 2nd quarter to lead the team with 8 points. But Sunbright would take the lead thanks to a buzzer-beater from 28 feet away, 31-30, at the half.
Hampered by foul trouble forcing him to miss a lot of minutes in the 2nd quarter, Evan Lemons made up for it and played bigger than his frame in the 3rd quarter. The senior would snatch up rebounds, defend the paint and chip in 4 points in the quarter. Reed had a solid third as well with 7 points while limiting Rogers to 5. Cooper Queener would knock down his fourth 3-pointer of the game and the Wave would lead 48-41 heading into the 4th quarter.
In the 4th, Midway would extend their lead with buckets from Peyton Steele, Lemons, Reed and Cowell. The final buzzer would sound with the Wave taking the win, 66-55.
Reed led the scoring with 23 on 9 of 17 shooting from the field. The junior guard also dished out 5 assists. Cowell was an assassin with 17 points, hitting 8 of 13 for 62% shooting from the field. He also pulled in 8 rebounds. Queener had 12 points and 3 steals. Evan Lemons had another all-around game with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Midway | 14 | 30 | 48 | 66 |
| Sunbright | 11 | 31 | 41 | 55 |
Midway will play at home again Friday as they look to avenge an earlier loss to the Greenback Cherokees.