4th-quarter run propels Middies past Eagles

Southwestern Conference foes Avon and Midview were tied early in the fourth quarter before the Middies used a 14-2 run to pull away, 62-48, over the host Eagles on Dec. 19.

Tied at 42-42 with 5:30 remaining, Midview senior guard Gage Carnes jammed home a dunk that sparked the huge run. Carnes would later hit a 3-pointer, and teammate Aidan Breggins followed to extend it to 52-42 with 3:14 left.

Avon’s Jake Parker nailed a 3-pointer in hopes of starting a comeback, but the Middies’ Jonny Manning and guard Isiah Johnson responded with backto-back layups to seal it.

Carnes had a game-high 21 points, and teammate Vince Birth followed with 13. Manning and Breggins each finished with 10. Eagles guard Ryan Maloy led with 14 points.

Midview improved to 5-1 (31) and Avon dropped to 2-2 (1-2).

“We were just hitting our shots,” Carnes said. “We were patient and waited for our shot

and not the one they gave us. We knocked them down.”

The game started off sluggishly. Midview held a 13-8 first quarter lead and entered halftime up, 26-24. Midview did a fair job defensively on Maloy, who is the Eagles’ premier guard. But Maloy had flashes of success, and with 30 seconds in the quarter, drove into traffic for a circus shot to give Avon a two-point lead. Breggins scored right before the buzzer for a 3838 game.

An early-season SWC contest between these two foes was expected to come down to the wire, and the Middies’ pulling one out only boosts their confidence.

“This helps us a lot,” Carnes added. “It’s early in the season and beating Avon at Avon is nice. We’re playing more as a team this year. Last year we weren’t really a team and played individually. This year we’re playing as a group.”

Midview knocked down eight 3-pointers and moved the ball well throughout the night. Avon nailed five

beyond the arc, but struggled at the stripe, going 4 of 10.

“Hats off to Midview. They came in here and played a good game,” Avon coach Kevin Sapara said. “We struggled with limiting Carnes. He’s a good player. I still like our team. It’s still early for us. We’re taking some early lumps, but we’ll get better.”

Midview coach Jim Brabenec credited his team’s defense corralling Maloy, and the 5-1 start is the result of more unselfish play from his group than in years past.

“It was a typical Midview-Avon rivalry game, no matter the sport,” he said. “For us to come out on top, we had to match their physicality. That’s what they’ve done to us in the past and we were able to match it.

“This is big for our confidence going forward. Anytime you can come in and win a game at Avon against a team that’s always good and well-coached, it’s big for our guys. Maloy is a great player and we knew we had to stop him to come out on top. I thought our guards and bigs did a nice job stepping out on screens in the second half and we were able to contain him.”