Trio of Mustangs earn All-Conference Honors

Over the next couple of weeks, the PCN will be talking to Phillips County basketball coaches about their All-Conference Selections.

The Malta Mustangs basketball team had three athletes land on the 2021-22 District 2B list. Senior captains Rex Williamson and Connor Tuss were All-State selections.

Jared Eggebrecht, a junior, was also named to the 2B list as a second-team All-Conference selection.

Williamson, Tuss, and Eggebrecht helped lead Malta all the way to Saturday at the State B tournament earlier this March. This included a Northern B Championship Trophy, District 2B Conference Title, and a second-place finish in the District 2B Tournament.

Both Williamson and Tuss athletes were All-Conference in 2021, Williamson was a first-team selection, and Tuss was a second-team selection.

Williamson, who played point guard, averaged 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 pass deflections per game.

Williamson made 65 percent of his two-point field goals, 35 percent of his three-point attempts, and made 70 percent of his free throws.

"Rex has just been one of those dependable and steady kids since his sophomore season, as far as playing on varsity," Coach Costin said. "Rex has always been a tremendous defender. He became more of a scoring threat every year for us."

Coach Costin said that Williamson was a threat on offense as a three-point shooter as well as a strong finisher at the rim.

"Rex just had a great all-around game," Coach Costin said. "He was a very good leader that lead by example."

Coach Costin said that he wasn't strong vocally, but he led the team through a lot of tough situations.

"He is very competitive, which is one of those factors that you can't coach," Coach Costin said. "It seems as though a kid has that or he doesn't and Rex definitely has that."

In listening to radio broadcasts throughout the postseason, Williamson's name was well spoken of.

"I think it's because he was such a hard worker," Coach Costin said. "You always got Rex's best effort every night, whether he was feeling one-hundred percent or not. He had nagging injuries occasionally. There may have been an illness, but you couldn't tell by his effort on the floor. Rex's effort was always great."

Despite being sidelined with a back injury for several weeks this season, when Tuss was on the court, the 6'7" senior was a force inside. Playing inside on both sides of the court, Tuss gave the team a great option inside with a strong layup, slam dunk, or a great assist from the post or in the fast break.

"When you have a 6'7" kid that can grab the rebound and bring it down the floor himself, and then distribute the ball, it makes an impact," Coach Costin said.

He said that because of Tuss' ability to initiate the break, Malta's guards were able to get going down the court faster.

After his injury occurred early in the season, the team was worried that they may not get Tuss back, and despite waiting as patiently as he could, Tuss made the most of his situation, absorbing the game from the sideline. This was apparent to Coach Costin.

"I think it was beneficial for Connor," Coach Costin said. "I think he got to sit back, watch, and look at some things. When he came back from that injury the week before districts, he was a much more positive leader."

According to Coach Costin, Tuss became more patient in the post, whereas he would rush things in the paint.

"I really thought that, especially through the three postseason tournaments, he was probably the best post player on the floor in every game that we played."

Tuss racked up double-doubles every game in the post-season and slowed down opposing post players in the Northern B which included Shelby's Rhett Reynolds, Harlem's Caleb Cole, and Fairfield's Kaelob Flores. Tuss averaged 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks a game last season. Tuss made 60 percent of his two-point attempts.

"Connor, with his length, was a great defender," Coach Costin said. "He was a great rebounder at both ends of the floor. He ended up being a good scorer."

He said that Williamson and Tuss will be hard to replace, being that they were so strong on both ends of the court.

This year was Eggebrecht's first time on the All-Conference list.

"We had a friend of mine nickname Jared, 'Lunch Pail' because Jared just comes to work and does his job," Coach Costin said. "That just describes Jared. He does his job and he plays well at both ends."

Offensively Jared was able to score and distribute the ball of at the high post, the most important spot in the zone offense according to Coach Costin.

Eggebrecht was efficient from the perimeter, knocking down 45 percent from the three-point line, identical to the NBA's highest percentage shooter, Luke Kennard of the Los Angeles Clippers. Eggebrecht shot 48 percent from within the arc. He had 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

Defensively, Eggebrecht was tasked with facing some of the toughest opponents throughout the postseason.

"In the divisional title game he guarded Harlem's Tyler Cichosz, who is one of those guys that can play inside-out and Jared did a nice job on him," Coach Costin said. "A lot of time we would put Jared on someone a little bit bigger than him. He had to work hard and sometimes we would put him on someone quicker and he had to work hard in a different way. He was just a dependable, solid kid that just got the job done for us."