Midview cruises past Avon in SWC play

By David Rivera

AVON, OHIO– The Midview Middies used a huge fourth quarter to hold off the Avon Eagles in league play Tuesday night. The Middies outscored the Eagles by 14 to close things out 62-48.

Each team started off slow to begin the game feeling each other out to get something going offensively. Avon fell behind early in the game thanks to poor shooting and the Middies height in the middle. Gage Carnes was a man amongst boys as the 6-foot-6 senior was all over the place for Midview. Carnes carried the team on his back to get things rolling early on, scoring 10 points in the first quarter to finish with a game-high 21 on the night.

Avon clawed back in the second quarter to make it a close game at the half. After scoring only eight points in the first quarter, the Eagles finally got it going thanks to junior point guard Ryan Maloy. Maloy scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the second quarter to give his team a chance at the break as the Eagles were down two, 26-24.

The third quarter was a back and forth scoring affair and a total team effort by both teams.
Dean Emerine had five points for Avon to spark a run to finish out the quarter tied up at 38 headed into the fourth.

But the final eight minutes of the game belonged to Carnes. He dominated the paint with three two-hand jams to close out Avon for good. The biggest question for the Eagles was, where was Maloy? He did not play in the last quarter because of a coaching decision.

Instead, coach Kelly Mann went with youth as freshman guard Dominic Rini was plugged in. Rini definitely held his own on the big stage, but the Eagles needed scoring and the only guy to step up of the bench was sophomore Brandon Doehne. He showed heart and fight in the game, scoring seven points in the final stretch to finish with nine on the night.

But in the end, Midview proved to be to much to handle as four players scored in double figures. Paced by Carnes’ game-high 21, Vince Birth chipped in with 13 of his own. Aiden Breggins and Jonny Manning pitched in 10 each.

With the win, Midview improves to 5-1 on the season while Avon drops to 2-2.