HALE - Mar. 10, 2010 - Mio AuSable brought the perfect recipe for a district tournament upset to the table Wednesday at Hale.

The Thunderbolts built an early lead, slowed the tempo of the game and held Hale's top three scorers to a combined two points in building a 22-16 halftime lead..

But after an uninspired first half, the Eagles took control after halftime to post a 45-40 victory over the undermanned Thunderbolts.

""We got outworked for more than two quarters," said Hale coach Ryan Parkinson. "We were outrebounded, Mio beat us to every loose ball, and that's to their credit. It took a long time for us to show up."

Hale played much more like a 19-2 squad for most of the second half, getting the ball inside to Christian Mudry nine points during a 15-4 third quarter run that put the Eagles in control.

Mio kept it close through the fourth quarter as Micah Thomey hit three 3-pointers, but Mudry hit all six of his free throws down the stretch and Ben Katterman added a 3-point play with under two minutes to go that gave Hale a seven-point lead.

It wasn't until Mudry's final two free throws gave Hale its final 45-40 lead with 24 seconds left that the Eagles felt safe.

"We did a good job of limiting them to one shot," said Mio coach Dennis Kann. "We knew they were going to pound it inside and were able to keep that under control for awhile.

"In the second half they really got after it. We were more physical in the first half, but they came out a lot more physical in the second half."

Mio didn't allow Hale to score its first basket until two minutes remained in the opening quarter and led 7-2 heading to the second. Thomey hit his first 3-pointer and Grant Price added a basket to give Mio a 10-point lead two minutes into the second quarter.

With Katterman and Tanner Shellenbarger shut out for the half and Mudry on the bench with foul trouble after scoring just two points, the Eagles needed someone to step up.

Eddy Cadwell got the Eagles back into the game with two 3-pointers and a traditional 3-point play, Brenden O'Dell came off the bench to pick up an assist and solid defense, and Ben Stoll added a key basket and an emphatic blocked shot (along with two offensive fouls). Cadwell's second trey tied the game at 16-16 before Mio scored six points in the final two minutes to take its six-point halftime lead.

"Eddy and Brenden especially kept us in it, especially offensively," Parkinson said. "Defensively you're always going to miss Christian (Moody, out of the year with a knee injury), but they did a nice job at the defensive end, too.

"We needed someone to give us a lift and they came through for us."

Mudry finished with a game-high 17 points, with Cadwell and Katterman adding nine apiece as Hale (20-2) advanced to Friday's district title game with Hillman (20-1).

Thomey led Mio (7-13) with 18 points, with Price adding 11 and K.C. Fox scoring seven.

"The kids put out a great effort," Kann said. "They went out and actually executed the game plan. Hale's a great team, but we were able to withstand their run and were never out of it.

"I'm so proud of the kids. I have to give them an 'A' tonight. A win would have been an 'A+', but I've got to give them an 'A' for the way they played tonight."