PIONEERS DROP DOUBLE OT HEARTBREAKER TO MOTT

Flint, MI-

There was a lot of hype surrounding Saturday's showdown between the 11^th ranked Delta College Pioneers and the 16^th ranked Mott Bears.  The rivalry between the Pioneers and the Bears has heated up in recent years.  The three match-ups last season were settled by a combined total of thirteen points.  In front of a packed crowd, Saturday afternoon's game would go down as one of the most memorable.   Delta and Mott battled it out for fifty minutes and it would take double overtime for the game to be decided.  In the end, the Mott Bears would prevail 109-107.   

The Delta men jumped out to early lead, 5-3, when Leonte Parker found Jalen Fykes in the corner for a three pointer.  The Bears would dominate the next six minutes and go on a 19-7 run to take a 22-12 lead.  With four minutes remaining in the half, a Peyton Miller put back followed up by a Justin Person three pointer cut the Mott lead down to nine, 38-29.  With less than a minute left in the half, the Bears would convert a steal into a basket and take a 46-34 lead into the locker room.

The first five minutes of the second half were dominated by the Pioneers.  Back to back transition baskets by Martel Handley and a lay-up by Cedric Moten cut the lead down to 51-47.  At the twelve-minute mark, a questionable intentional foul call against the Pioneer's Fykes resulted in a five-point possession for the Bears and the lead was pushed back up to 65-51.  The Mott lead would hover around twelve points until the final seven minutes of the second half.  A Torandis Mack jumper would spark a Pioneer run and with two minutes left a Fykes dunk cut the Mott lead down to one, 76-75.  With thirty seconds remaining, Moten was fouled on an offensive rebound and he hit two free throws to tie the game 78-78.  Pressure defense by the Pioneers caused two rushed shots by the Bears and the teams headed to overtime.

In the first overtime, a put back dunk by Fykes gave the Delta men an 89-85 lead with 1:33 left.  The Bears would hit some clutch three pointers and have an opportunity to win in the closing seconds.  Two blocks by the Pioneer's Miller kept the game tied 91-91 and the teams headed to another overtime.

In the second overtime, the Bears jumped out to a 99-94 lead.  A Mack hoop and free throw followed up by a Handley lay-up tied the game up at 99-99.  With eight seconds left, Handley tied the game up once again but on the ensuing inbound Delta committed a foul and the Bears knocked down two free throws to give them the two point lead and the victory 109-107.                        

"Both teams played hard and unfortunately one team had to come out on the losing end," said Head Coach Carlos McMath.  "We had a lead in the first overtime and had a chance to win the game but we didn't take advantage of the opportunity."

Turnovers hurt the Pioneers as they committed 28 compared to Mott's 21.  The Bears were able to capitalize off those turnovers at they converted them into 33 points.  The Pioneers only converted 21 points off the Mott turnovers.  The twelve point difference proved to be the downfall for the Delta men.       

"We had two six minute stretches in the game where we didn't take care of the ball and convert our opportunities," said McMath.  "That was pretty much the difference, we battled hard and fought to get back in the game but we need to play consistently and not have those dry spells." 

The Pioneers had four players reach double figures.  Leading the way for Delta was Torandis Mack with a career high 31 points.  Martel Handley had 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Cedric Moten had 20 points and Jalen Fykes had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.  Peyton Miller contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds (5 offensive), and 2 blocks.    

The Pioneers (10-2, 2-2) will look to end their two game losing streak when they host the Schoolcraft Community College Ocelots (10-5, 1-2) on Wednesday night.  The Ocelots have beaten the Pioneers in their last nine meetings with the last victory for the Pioneers coming back in the 2012-2013 season.  Game time will be 7:30 at Pioneer Gymnasium.