It was fast, it was effective and it gave Midway fits all game.

Waco High’s super-charged offense still wasn’t enough to hold off the playoff-hungry Midway Panthers.

Orion Stewart tipped in a Levi Norwood miss with 2.7 seconds left, drew contact and swished through the ensuing free throw to hand Midway a stunning 69-68 home win over dazed Waco High.

Waco High’s Reshard McCants tries to maneuver around Midway defender Brendon Quinton during the Lions’ 69-68 loss Friday night.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

With two games now left in season, the win was essential for Midway to keep its playoff hopes alive. It also took a bite out of Waco High’s attempts at taking home a District 16-4A title.

Should Midlothian defeat Ennis today, Midway would move into a tie with Ennis for the district’s fourth and final playoff spot.

Waco High had to recover from a large deficit to win when these teams last played, but the Lions (20-9, 9-4) never trailed until Stewart hit his putback to hand Midway the win.

Midway trailed by double digits for most of the game until the Panthers (15-18, 8-5) finally made their move.

Anthony Betters hit a shot with five minutes left to kick off a 12-3 run over the next three minutes that was capped by Jay Hook’s 3-pointer to make it 65-61, the closest Midway had been since it was 9-5 in the opening minutes.

The Panthers continued to pour on pressure as Waco High’s offense slowed considerably, and Hook finally found his range. He finished with 22 points, Norwood had 15 and Stewart had 12.

Hook drilled another 3-pointer with a minute left to chop the Lions’ lead down to 67-66. Waco High drew a foul on the other end with 20 seconds to go but only hit one of the two foul shots, which paved the way for Midway’s game-winning possession.

Norwood drove to the edge of the lane, found some space and fired a shot that missed long. But Stewart was on the other end of the miss, put up a quick shot off the glass and drew the body foul to riotous applause from the Midway section and disbelief from Lions fans.

As is always the case when Waco High is involved, the game assumed a frantic pace from the opening tip, and Midway struggled to keep up.

Midway’s Orion Stewart (23) grabs a rebound over teammate Anthony Betters (10) and Waco High’s Jeremy Stone in the first half Friday night.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

The Panthers turned it over six times in the opening quarter and the Lions led by as many as 17 points in the third and held a 14-point lead with with 5:29 to go in the fourth.

Waco High coaxed Midway into playing its brand of up-tempo basketball for the majority of the game, which played right into the Lions’ hands early.

Waco High reeled off the first seven points of the game, ran all over the Panthers early and opened up a 20-8 lead after a first quarter in which seven different Lions scored.

The second quarter was a similar story, especially when forward Reshard McCants got revved up.

McCants preyed on the separation the Lions’ speedy guards created in the lane, and scored eight of his 17 points just before halftime to lead the Lions to a 43-30 lead at intermission.

Demarquin Owens added 14 for Waco High.

Waco High seemed poised to break the game open when Quintin Pittman drilled a deep 3-pointer with 4:21 left in the third quarter for a 50-33 lead.

But Norwood dropped in two 3-pointers over the next two minutes to spur a 9-0 Midway run as the Panthers pulled to within 50-42.

Waco High pushed the lead back out again before Midway made its final decisive run.

wparchman@wacotrib.com

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