Mustangs fall to Shelby in Consolation Finals

The Malta Mustangs put forth their strongest effort this past weekend but things failed to go their way as they lost in the consolation finals to the Shelby Coyotes who Malta also lost to in the opening round.

Prior to the 2016 Boys Northern B Tournament held in Malta this past weekend, Malta defeated the Coyotes twice this season, but each time these teams met this past weekend, Shelby played disciplined basketball which ultimately pushed them past Malta.

As for the Mustangs, the team was disciplined on the court as well but failure to hit shots in and outside of the paint was dooming.

The score of the consolation final game was 57-50, which gave the Coyotes a right to a challenge game against the Conrad Cowboys who lost the Northern B Championship Game to the Choteau Bulldogs.

"The kids played hard," Mustangs Head Coach David Costin told the PCN after the game. "They gave it everything they had, so we had no complaints that way."

The Mustangs were led by Allen Williamson, who had 19 points. Nate Costin had 14 points. Devon Raybon had nine points. Tyson Carney had four points. Jace Bishop and Taylor Matthews each scored two points.

The Coyotes played aggressive in the paint, drawing 15 fouls that got them to the free throw line for 26 attempts, which was turned into 23 points (88.5 percent.)

The Mustangs had a seven point lead in the first quarter thanks to a 12-3 run, but Shelby would pull back to grab a 23-19 lead at halftime on a 14-1 run. The Mustangs were held to three points in the second quarter, thanks in part to a change of defense by Shelby.

"They went to that 1-3-1 zone and we just struggled to move the ball," Coach Costin said. "They covered our shooters really well. We didn't get a lot of good looks from the three point line."

Coach Costin noted that before the offensive drought, things were moving really well.

"Devon, in the first quarter had a fantastic quarter in scoring," he said. "Then they started respecting him by putting a couple guys down there in the paint. Our shooting just, for whatever reason, left us and we just needed a guy or two to knock a couple of threes down to keep things rolling but we couldn't."

The team also gave up some baskets in transition.

"We gave up some easy baskets in the second half of this game," Coach Costin said. "Against a good team and in the tournament you just can't give up easy baskets. They're hard to survive and we just couldn't survive them tonight."

In order to reach the consolation finals, Malta was first pitted against their district foe and rival Glasgow on Friday. Malta wouldn't let the third time be a charm for the Scotties as Malta won 68-40.

Malta was led by Carney who went off for 18 points, who would comment about their first win of the weekend.

"It feels really good," Carney said. "We didn't even play to our full potential. Hopefully we can come out and show it in our next game."

Carney praised his team for the strong defensive effort put forth against the Scotties.

"Devon just kept going up and getting those rebounds, he would look for the outlet, either me, Nate, Allen or Ostin and he would pass it up and we would usually have a wide open lay up on the other end.

Costin had 17 points. Raybon had 11 points. Williamson had eight points. Bishop had five points. Matthews had four points. Ostin Welch and Cru Darrah each scored two points.

Carney also shined defensively as he looked like a cornerback or free safety at times on the court.

"I don't want it to be but knowing this could be my last tournament, it's time for me to step up my game," Carney said.

Malta was outscored 12-10 in the first quarter, but the team would make up for the two point deficit, outscoring Glasgow 20-11 in the second. The team also went on a 27-2 run that started in the third quarter and ended in the fourth.

"We defended a lot better," Williamson said. "Our hustle wasn't the greatest but it was a lot better than it has been in the past few games."

Williamson knew to have a shot at making it through the weekend they would have to play even better.

"We have to pick the effort up," Williamson said. "We have to hustle on the hustle plays a lot more, block out and defend a lot better."

Williamson has been one of the more vocal players in wanting to beat the Scotties over his years with Malta. His final high school tournament ended last weekend, but not without taking out his favorite rival.

"Beating Glasgow is pretty much the best because that's the team we want to defeat more than anyone else other than Choteau, but it's always good to beat them," Williamson said.

Malta would go on to defeat the Fairfield Eagles 65-58 on Saturday morning.

The team was lead by Carney, who scored 15 points and was 11 of 12 from the free throw line.

Raybon had 14 points. Costin scored 12 points. Williamson scored eight points. Matthews had four points. Bishop had three points.

The win wet them up for a chance at facing Conrad, who would lose to Choteau in the championship round, however Malta ran out of steam.

The game took a lot out of Malta, who would play later that night in the consolation finals.

"We had to work pretty hard in a pretty physical game in the morning against Fairfield," Coach Costin said. "The more physical the game, I think it takes a little more out of you. I think it was definitely a factor."

In the first round of the Northern B, which was the first loss to Shelby, Malta was led by Costin who scored by 18 points. Williamson and Carney both had 13 points. Welch had 10 points. Hunter Love had three points and Raybon had two.