Basketball Recap: Payton Bailes Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Liberty

There's no place like home for Midland Trail, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 56-34 margin over the Liberty Raiders on Tuesday. This was a revenge game for the Patriots: when they faced off against the Raiders back in January, they had to take a 46-30 defeat.

Payton Bailes

Three Point Percentage

02/18/25 vs Liberty	80%
02/15/25 @ Sherman	22%
02/10/25 vs Summit Christian Academy	29%
02/07/25 vs Clay County	27%
02/05/25 @ PikeView	75%
+ 14 more games

Midland Trail's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Payton Bailes, who on his way to 20 points and seven rebounds. Thanks to that strong game, Bailes now owns an excellent 40.2% three-point shooting accuracy. The team also got some help courtesy of Thad Brown, who to rack up 18 points and five boards.

Midland Trail smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in five consecutive matchups.

Liberty lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Liam Daniels, who en route to 12 points. Another player making a difference was Riley Marty, who posted 12 points and six rebounds.

Midland Trail's record is now 11-8. As for Liberty, their loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 5-10.

Midland Trail wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 59-33 defeat against James Monroe on the 24th. As for Liberty, they have also already played their next contest, a 103-21 win against Van on the 24th.