Malta's offense finds groove, team nets wins

The Malta Mustangs picked up wins against a pair of Northern B opponents last week, defeating the Glasgow Scotties in Glasgow and then the Shelby Coyotes in Malta.

According to senior Kevin Henry, the win could be attributed to one thing.

"We had a great week of practice," Henry told the PCN. "We came ready to work Monday and practiced hard all week. We came knowing that it was going to be a tough game but we got the win."

In their 54-38 win over Shelby, Malta was led by Kooper Oxarart who scored 15 points. Oxarart accounted for three of Malta's six treys in the win.

"Kooper was on fire and we are really proud of him," Henry said.

Tanner Smith had 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Henry had 13 points which included two treys. Ben Costin had seven points. Kaden Bergos had three points, and Cormac Benn had two points.

The team was 14-of-25 (56%) from the free throw line, which is the highest percentage the team has posted at a home game this year.

"Our percentage wasn't very good for a long time but we practice them every practice," Henry said.

The team benefited from many defensive plays from multiple players on the team, but Rhett Simanton was involved in several defensive plays in the third quarter, a quarter in which Malta only gave up five points.

"We really focused on team defense and we wanted to pressure them because we thought they couldn't handle it well," Simanton said. "We work hard in practice, working on our traps and jumping to the ball."

Earlier that night Malta's JV team defeated Shelby 44-36. Kanyon Stiles had a team-leading eight points. Benn and Zachary Welch each had seven points.

"It was a pretty physical game, so we had to play physical, be strong, and make some smart decisions because it was a hard fought contest," Franky Werk told the PCN after the game. "It was pretty good for a JV game."

In Malta's win 43-40 over Glasgow, the team was led by Smith who had 15 points. Henry had nine points. B. Costin had seven points. Simanton had five points. Oxarart had three points and Bergos had three points.

"Everyone knows how bad we wanted to beat them being their rivals," Simanton said. "we were ready to play and we were intense throughout the game and we just had fun and that's the biggest thing, I think."

The Mustangs were 7-of-14 (50%) from the free throw line.

The Mustangs will need to continue to show improvement as they face Harlem and Poplar this weekend, two teams that they fell to earlier this season. The team will face the Harlem Wildcats on Friday, January 18, at 6 p.m. in Malta. The team will then travel to Poplar to face the Indians at 4 p.m. The Malta Mustang JV team will face Dodson on Tuesday, January 22, at 5 p.m.