DELTA MEN LOSE A TIGHT GAME TO #10 MOTT

University Center, Michigan -  

In front of a packed house Saturday afternoon, the Delta College men's basketball team hosted the nationally ranked Mott Bears.  The Mott Bears, sitting in 2^nd place in the MCCAA Eastern Conference and ranked 10^th nationally, were looking to sweep the regular season series from the Pioneers.  For a majority of the game, the Pioneers looked like they weren't going to let that happen but a late surge by the Bears carried them over the top and gave them a 69-65 victory.

In the first five minutes, the Pioneers came out aggressive and built a nine point lead, 14-5.  The next ten minutes went back and forth and after a Jonathan Swift three pointer and Trey Newsham baby hook, the Pioneers still held a 22-13 lead with 4:30 left in the half.  The Bears closed the half with a 13-8 run of their own and the score was 30-26 at half time.                     

Coming out of the break, Allante Wheeler gave the Pioneers the momentum back with a monster dunk and pushed the score to 34-26.  Mott then went on a mini run of their own and cut the Pioneer lead to 36-35 with 16:00 left in the half.  Another Allante Wheeler dunk and a Jonathan Swift lay-up pushed the lead back to 43-38 for the Pioneers.  Once again, the Bears had an answer and the score was 50-50 with 9:30 to play.  A Torion Wilson put back lay-up gave the Pioneers a 56-55 lead with 5:20 left in the game.  Back to back three pointers by Mott gave them a 61-57 lead with 3:24 remaining.  With 2:07 on the clock, Trey Newsham hit a clutch three pointer to cut the Mott lead to one 63-62.  The Bears made several key free throws and maintained a three point lead with 5 seconds remaining.  The Pioneers drew up a three point play but the shot rimmed out and the Bears held on to win the game.                         

"The second half was a game of runs," said head coach Carlos McMath.  "We did a really good job building a lead but we couldn't execute to build the lead big enough.  We let several key possessions get away from us by settling rather than attacking and that proved to be the difference.  Once again, we put ourselves in a position to win the ball game but we just didn't finish the job."     

The Delta men finished with four guys in double figures.  Jonathan Swift lead the way with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.  Allante Wheeler and Devin Smith both added 12 points.  Trey Newsham had 11 points for the Pioneers.

The game was one of the last home games for the Pioneers in the 2016-2017 season so the athletic department took the opportunity to honor their sophomores.   In all, nine sophomores were recognized for their achievements, dedication, and commitment to the program.                                        

"Two of our main focuses as a coaching staff are retention and development," said McMath.  "Today we honored 9 sophomores, 8 of which are returners from the 2015-2016 team.  We are very proud of their achievements on and off the court.  There is still a lot of work to do before they leave but they have definitely left their mark on this program."

The Delta Men's basketball team (10-11, 6-7) will travel to face the Schoolcraft Ocelots (18-5, 10-2) on Wednesday evening.  Schoolcraft is currently tied for 1st place with Macomb in the MCCAA Eastern Conference standings.  Game time is 7:30 at Schoolcraft College.