Photo Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)

In an electric atmosphere at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls basketball teams faced off with the rival Williamsburg Raiders in a non-conference hoops doubleheader Thursday. The Golden Hawk boys captured their signature win of the season so far 66-61 over the No. 10 ranked Raiders in overtime. The Hawks rode hot shooting, including nine made first half threes to a lead of 31-25 at intermission. Mid-Prairie would continue to play from in front, stretching the advantage to as many as 11 in the third quarter and found themselves on top 47-40 going to the fourth. The Raiders made a late charge and took a 54-51 lead with just under 90 seconds remaining. Golden Hawk senior Dylan Henry drilled the game tying three and the Mid-Prairie defense made a stand at the other end to send the contest to overtime. Williamsburg led in the extra period 61-60 with 2:03 remaining before the Hawks closed the game with a 6-0 run that included four straight defensive stops and free throws to seal the deal. As the buzzer sounded the celebration was on in Wellman, including a court storm. Golden Hawk of the Game, sophomore Bryce Henry joined the KCII Postgame Show to talk about the win, the hot shooting and the atmosphere. Henry said, “It was really electric, especially playing a rivalry game like this. It’s great when we’re hitting shots and playing good defense. Any time they got a shot up, we had to go find a man, box out, and grab the ball. I just have to keep shooting and trust myself. I know I can make that shot. This was the biggest win of our season so far. We have so much confidence going down the stretch.”

The Hawks won the boards by three, Williamsburg won the turnover battle 10-8. The Hawks knocked down 15 three pointers and put four in double figures, led by Bryce Henry’s double double of 23 points and 10 boards with six threes. Dylan Henry went for 16 points and Ace Peck and Brady Weber each scored 15. Grant Hocker led Williamsburg with 18. Mid-Prairie is now 9-7 as Williamsburg drops to 9-6.

The girls contest went to No. 15 Williamsburg 63-44. The Raiders never trailed, starting the game on a 15-2 run. They were on top 29-21 at half and would stretch the advantage to as large as 17 after intermission. Mid-Prairie chopped the lead down to seven on several occasions but could get no closer. Williamsburg won the glass by 10 and had 15 offensive rebounds. The Raiders won turnovers 21-13. Carly Rich led Williamsburg with 15 points. Mid-Prairie got 18 points from Nora Pennington and 10 from Callie Huber. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 9-8, Williamsburg is now 11-7.