Midland Takes Down Broncos, 81-76
(Hastings, NE) – The Midland Warriors held off the Broncos hopes to get their first conference win of the season, outlasting Hastings 81-76 on Wednesday.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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37 | 44 | 81 |
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27 | 49 | 76 |
Team Stats
Midland
| Game Statistics | Midland | Hastings |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (30-56) | (30-64) |
| Field Goal % | 53.6% | 46.9% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 35 |
| Assists | 8 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 11 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 10 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 8 | 8 |
| Pts in the Paint | 0 | 0 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 20 | 35 |
(Hastings, NE) – The Midland Warriors held off the Broncos hopes to get their first conference win of the season, outlasting Hastings 81-76 on Wednesday.
Sophomore Ben Boudreau continued his hot shooting in recent games by knocking down a three to begin the game. Freshman Maverick Binder splashed in a three a couple minutes later to pull Hastings ahead, 6-4. The Warriors from there went on a 10-2 run to take a 14-8 lead with 13:51 remaining in the opening half.
Trailing 16-8, junior DaRon Hall came off the bench and stopped the run with a two-pointer. Junior John Barnhill provided some good energy off the bench as well over the next few minutes by scoring inside, then hitting a free throw following an offensive rebound to make it 20-14. Barnhill blocked a shot at the other end, setting up Hall with a triple to bring Hastings within three with 9:05 left.
Hastings was able to get within one on a Hall free throw and jumper at 25-24. Midland scored and Boudreau answered back with a jumper with 2:13 left. Following a Warrior basket on a free throw by Barnhill, Midland closed the half on an 8-0 run in the final 90 seconds, capped off by a jumper at the buzzer to take a 37-27 halftime lead.
Midland shot 50 percent in the first half and held Hastings to 31 percent from the field, in addition to outrebounding the Broncos by four on the glass. Hall had eight points at the half to lead the Broncos in scoring.
Sophomore David Hageman scored the first six points of the half for Hastings, but Midland stretched the lead out to 13 five minutes into the second half. Trailing 48-35, Hall scored six quick points to bring Hastings within 11. Looking for an offensive spark, junior Christian Pujals came off the bench and made his presence felt, getting inside to score and cut the lead to nine with 11:38 left.
Midland answered back quickly with a 5-0 run to keep the momentum on their side and force a Broncos timeout. Pujals and Barnhill scored on the first two possessions after the timeout, but Midland still held a 13 point lead with 7:40 left. Hageman's three brought the lead to 10 and after a Warrior missed shot from deep, Pujals showed off his range with a three to get within seven at the 7:02 mark.
The Warriors were able to gain some of the momentum back over the next few minutes, pulling ahead to 70-59 with 4:42 to go. Junior Myles Simon trimmed the lead back to nine and Hastings forced turnovers on back-to-back possessions, leading to easy baskets for Boudreau and Simon to make the score 70-65 with 3:20 left.
After a couple of Midland free throws, Binder buried a three to pull Hastings to within four. Boudreau had a chance to make it a one-possession game on a three after a couple of Warrior free throws, but Midland was able to get the stop, then split a pair of free throws to go up six with 1:42 remaining.
Hall got to the line on the next Hastings possession, making one of two to keep the deficit at five. Hastings was able to stay within a two possession game most of the rest of the way as Midland was able to make shots offensively. Boudreau hit a three to get Hastings within three with five second left, but Midland iced the game with two free throws to win 81-76,
Hastings shot the ball very well in the second half by shooting 63 percent from the field, while Midland was 58 percent in the second period. Also in the second half, the Broncos forced eight turnovers and outrebounded the Warriors.
Hall finished the game with a team-high 17 points to go along with three rebounds. Hageman had 15 points and a pair of steals, while Boudreau had 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Pujals and Barnhill each had nine points off the bench, with Barnhill also contributing eight rebounds.
Hastings will travel to Mitchell, SD on Saturday, Jan. 11 to take on Dakota Wesleyan at 3:45pm.
