Union Men’s Basketball Opens Season With Win Over Midway

MIDWAY, Ky. — Union Commonwealth University's men's basketball team (1-0) opened the season with a 73-66 win over Midway (0-1) on Thursday night at Marshall Gymnasium.

Sophomore Jabari Covington led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting, adding six rebounds, five assists and one steal. Redshirt junior Kaleb Hedgepeth finished 4-of-6 from the field, scoring eight points and pulling down 15 rebounds.

Junior Kaleb McLendon paced the team from beyond the arc, hitting three 3-pointers and finishing with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and one block.

Game Recap

First half: Union Commonwealth 35, Midway 25
The opening 15 minutes featured six lead changes as both teams traded baskets. With 5:11 remaining in the half, Union led 21-19 before closing on a 14-6 run to take a 35-25 advantage into halftime.

Second half: Union Commonwealth 73, Midway 66
Midway started the second half strong with a 9-2 run, trimming Union's lead to 37-34 and forcing a Bulldogs timeout. That was as close as the Eagles would get. Union responded with a 15-2 run to push the lead to 52-36, prompting a Midway timeout.

The Bulldogs maintained control for much of the half, but Midway cut the deficit to 69-63 with two minutes left. A layup by David Galentine and two free throws from Drew Rhodes sealed the win for Union, 73-66.

Up Next

Union travels to the O. Wayne Rollins Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, to face Cumberlands on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.