Box Score SMWC men's basketball will remain alone atop the River States Conference West Division until the calendar flips to 2024.
The Pomeroys improved to 3-0 in the RSC with a 78-72 road win at Midway on Saturday, earning the first victory vs. the Eagles in the program's three seasons.
DaMeriz Merriweather had career-bests of 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Chaz Birchfield added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Cobie Barnes scored 10 of his 12 in the second half.  
 
RECORD BROKEN
Shon Tupuola broke his own single-game record of 17 rebounds with a 23-rebound performance to go with 18 points and two blocked shots. Tupuola shot 9 of 13 from the field Saturday.
Tupuola, a 6-foot-9 freshman, is eighth in the NAIA in rebounds per game at 10.8.
Tupuola had 9 offensive rebounds, helping SMWC match the best team performance in three seasons with 21 offensive boards.
"It was a good team win today. It feels great to break that rebounding record again and help us get the win," Tupuola said.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pomeroys owned the first five minutes of the second half to take the lead 40-39 on a turnaround mid-range jumper by Greg Johnson. SMWC regained the lead, 43-42, on a 3-pointer by Barnes at the 15:15 mark.
Merriweather drilled his third 3-pointer of the day to make it 46-42 at the 14:48 mark.
SMWC had outscored the Eagles 16-7 in that 5-minute, 12-second span to open the second half.
After Midway evened it at 46-46, the Pomeroys went on a 6-0 spurt started by Tupuola's 18^th rebound of the game. He converted the layup after the offensive board. Barnes capped the run with a 3-pointer at the 10:48 mark.
The Pomeroys maintained at least a five-point lead until Donnie Miller's two free throws pulled Midway within 66-63 with 4:55 to go. Miler converted a layup on the next possession to make it a one-point game.
Midway took a brief 67-66 lead with 3:56 to go.
Then Tupuola converted an alley-oop dunk off the lob pass from Greg Jenkins.
Jenkins kept the momentum going at the defensive end, getting into the passing lane for a steal and layup to score his first points of the night.
Barnes picked up a steal on the next Midway possession to get the Pomeroys' lead back to five. Birchfield added another key basket with an offensive rebound bucket to put SMWC ahead 74-70 with 49 seconds left.
"Our guys did a great job responding to adversity," coach Jesse McClung said. "Making a run during the first five minutes out of halftime was crucial. Getting key stops to close the gap helped us." 
 
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
The Pomeroys didn't play their best in the first half, but they fought threw a slow start to find their way.
Midway jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead, but SMWC used aggressiveness on the offensive glass to claw back. The Pomeroys had 10 offensive rebounds in the first 10 minutes.
Merriweather hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 1:08 second span to pull the Pomeroys even at 15-15.
Tupuola scored off an offensive rebound to put SMWC ahead 21-19.
Tupuola crashed the glass for SMWC's 11^th offensive board of the half to pull the Pomeroys within 24-23, giving the Pomeroys 15 second-chance points in the game.
Tupuola scored his 8^th points of the half with a dunk off the assist from Merriweather to keep int a 26-25 game.
Midway finished the first half strong, taking a 35-27 lead before Merriweather connected for his third 3-pointer of the half.