Malta Looks to Contend Again This Season

The Malta Mustangs gave fans plenty to cheer about last season, as the team went toe-to-toe with two of the top teams in the Southern Division at the 2022 State B Basketball Tournament.

Malta would lose in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Three Forks Wolves, and then to the Lodge Grass Indians, but not by much as they fell 56-54 to Three Forks and 67-63 to Lodge Grass.

"When you get that close, of course it is disappointing, but overall it was a pretty good finish on the year," Malta Head Coach David Costin said.

Hoping to get back to the State B, Malta's 2022-23 team welcomes back most of last year's team minus graduated seniors Connor Tuss and Rex Williamson, who were both All-State selections in 2022.

This year's team welcomes back one athlete from the 2022 All-Conference list; senior Jared Eggebrecht, who was named as a Second-Team selection.

"Jared is kind of an all-around guy for us," Coach Costin said. "We can have him guard about anybody. Offensively, he has played different positions for us."

The team also welcomes back a few starters that saw plenty of time on the court last season.

This includes senior Kaden Bishop, a guard.

"Kaden is one of those high energy kids," Coach Costin said. "He had a few steals this weekend and made some stuff happen for us that way."

Though he had transferred to Malta last year, senior Eli Hanson, a 6'5" post player, did not play for the team, but is a welcome presence in the paint.

"Eli had a nice weekend for us but he is still learning things that we do," Coach Costin said. "I think he is going to have a great season for us."

Seniors Seth Siewing and Jonathan Siewing have been coming off of the bench and bring back plenty of experience.

"Seth comes in and applies some defensive pressure for us, and Jon is another kid that can play multiple positions for us."

Sophomores Treyten Wilke and Bohdi Brenden have also seen plenty of time in Malta's first weekend of games as starters.

The team will eventually welcome back Stockton Oxarart, a sophomore who logged in plenty of minutes last season.

"We might look young on paper, but those younger kids have played a ton of basketball," Coach Costin said. "We are missing Stock right now and I think that we will get him back fairly quickly."

The Mustangs picked up their first win of the season against the Lincoln County Lions on Saturday, December 10, after losing their season opener to the Loyola-Sacred Heart Rams. Both games were played at the 2022 Shelby Coyote Classic.

The Mustangs blew out the Lions, who were without a pair of starters that were injured.

Malta was led by sophomore Treyton Wilke who scored 19 points. Wilke also knocked down four treys and was 7-of-12 from the field.

Sophomore Bodhi Brenden scored 12 points and had four assists and four steals. Eli Hanson had 10 points. Jonathan Siewing had nine points.

Malta's offense outscored the Lions 34-5 in the first quarter and 24-15 in the second quarter.

Malta made 60.8 percent of their shots from the floor and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) of their free throws. Malta forced 24 turnovers, and scored 36 points off of those turnovers. The Mustangs also scored 24 points in transition.

In Malta's loss to Loyola-Sacred Heart, the score was 59-44.

"We were right there with Loyola and closed the lead to 46-44 with about four minutes to go," Coach Costin said. "We made two or three mistakes and put ourselves down, and then had to scramble and then they made some easy baskets."

The Mustangs were led by Eggebrecht who scored 13 points and had three rebounds. Wilke had 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Hanson had 12 points, five rebounds, and was 6-of-6 from the field.

Coach Costin was asked how his team acclimated to the new shot clock.

"Honestly, we never looked at it once," Coach Costin said. "I think that there was a lot to do about nothing with that thing."

The Mustangs played with a fast pace throughout their two games, something common for most teams in the area.

"For Class C, and Class B, I don't think that we will see it much," Coach Costin said. "I don't think we ever sniffed the end of the shot clock."

Coach Costin was asked how he and his team felt after the first weekend of games.

"Overall, I am pretty happy with the kids," Coach Costin said. "We saw some areas that we have to do a better job in."

He said that they are working on their effort level and trying to get to a point where they work hard every possession.