Middle Creek needed a big response Friday after losing its first game of the season and sole possession of the Tri-Eight lead to Panther Creek earlier in the week.

What the Mustangs got was what Middle Creek coach David Kushner called the best effort of the season in a 73-50 win at Green Hope (11-6, 4-4).

“It was huge. It was interesting to see how we’d react,” Kushner said. “I thought in the first half our energy was great coming off a tough loss on Tuesday. Our energy was the best it’s been all year.”

The Mustangs (16-1, 7-1) and the Falcons swapped runs and the lead eight times and the physical play was equal and back and forth.

In fact, it was a Green Hope player’s fist pump that inadvertently hit Middle Creek guard Kip Kelley that the Mustangs said pushed them to the back-breaking run that sealed the game’s momentum.

With just under four minutes to go in the third quarter, Green Hope center J.D. Pelham scored underneath and was fouled. Pelham then did a fist-pump in celebration, accidentally hitting Kelley in the face.

No foul was called, but Kelley would get his just desserts, nailing a 3-pointer on the very next possession and sparking some inspired play from the Mustangs, who went on a 12-0 run moments later.

Middle Creek turned up the pressure and aggression, took the lead and never looked back.

“I think that [incidental contact] gave me a sense a pride in my team,” said Garrius Adams, who along with Kelley, led the Mustangs with 15 points. “We came together.”

The Mustangs then owned the fourth quarter, outscoring the Falcons 25-13 to blow the game wide open.

“We didn’t do a real good job of keeping our mental cool down the stretch, but I think we’ll be back,” Green Hope coach Mickey Bissette said. “I thought they were more aggressive and we didn’t handle the aggression very well.”

But for almost three quarters, the Falcons and Mustangs traded punches and Green Hope seemed to be able to match the inspired aggression from Middle Creek.

The Mustangs closed the first quarter with a 12-2 run that stretched into the second. The Falcons responded with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 21-19 lead with 4:07 before halftime.

For the next eight minutes, it was back and forth, as neither the Mustangs nor Falcons wanted to give up control of the game.

But ultimately, Middle Creek came up big when it had to, cranking up the press, scoring off turnovers it forced and making 17-of-20 free throws down the stretch.

“I think we took it upon ourselves after the loss [to Panther Creek],” Kelley said. “The intensity picked up. We went back to basics: our defense. Our defense became our offense.”