Mustangs Start 2023 with Three Wins

The Malta Mustangs started the 2023 calendar year with three wins last week, fresh off of their Winter Break.

The Mustangs started their new year with a 62-49 win over the Glasgow Scotties last Tuesday, January 3, in the Glasgow High School Gymnasium. The night was Glasgow's "Color Rush" in which both schools donned their Away jerseys. Malta wore blue and Glasgow wore red.

Malta then defeated the Rocky Boy Stars 53-48 in Malta on Thursday, January 5, and the Roundup Panthers 84-23 on Saturday, January 7, in the Mustangs' second home game of the week.

Senior Jared Eggebrecht was asked how it felt to start the year on a three game win streak.

"It's good to get back on track," Eggebrecht said. "I wish we could have won those first two games but it's nice to get a win streak going and hopefully build on that."

Malta welcomed back sophomore Stockton Oxarart for his regular season debut.

"It feels great," Oxarart said. "Just trying to get my shot back. We have been moving the ball well and playing really good."

Oxarart was asked how the Winter Break went for the Mustangs.

"It was great, just a lot of defense, a lot of running in practice," he said.

This game against Glasgow was also a make up for their postponed game which was originally scheduled for Thursday, December 22, but was postponed due to the weather.

Malta was led by sophomore Treyton Wilke who scored 19 points, which included two treys.

Senior Jared Eggebrecht had 13 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Bohdi Brenden had 12 points and two steals. Oxarart had 12 points.

Senior Eli Hanson had four points, nine rebounds and two steals. Senior Kaden Bishop had four rebounds, two steals, and two points.

Glasgow was led by Wyatt Babb, who scored a game-high 29 points. Keigan Ingram had 10 points.

Malta outscored the Scotties 17-10 in the first quarter, 23-17 in the second quarter, and 12-11 in the fourth.

Assistant Coach Zach Handley took over the head coaching duties with Head Coach David Costin being away for the first couple of games of the year. Coach Costin returned for Malta's Saturday night game against Roundup.

Coach Handley was asked about the team's wins on Tuesday and Thursday and what they did so well.

"We were able to control the tempo of the game in Glasgow," Coach Handley said. "It was a persistent effort to play our game at our pace and the boys did well."

Wilke led Malta in their win against Rocky Boy with 20 points, six rebounds, and two steals.

Brenden had 14 points and six rebounds. Eggebrecht had seven points, five assists, and four rebounds.

Both teams headed into the fourth quarter with 32 points. Rocky Boy went up 39-34 with 6:30 remaining in the game. Wilke scored on a layup in which he was fouled with 4:30 left, tying the game before he converted the free throw to give Malta a 40-39 lead. After Rocky Boy regained the lead with a layup, Brenden responded with a trey, putting Malta up 43-41 with less than four minutes in the game.

Rocky Boy tied the game on their next possession with a pair of free throws, which was followed by a layup by Brenden with 3:32 remaining. Malta led 45-43. Oxarart added to the lead with a pair of free throws. Malta led by as much as six points in the final minutes of the game. Rocky Boy closed the gap to 49-48 with 1:10 left. A layup by Eggebrecht put Malta up 51-48 with 42 seconds left. Brenden made two free throws to end the game's scoring with 21 seconds left in the game.

Malta was aggressive around the perimeter in their 84-23 win over Roundup. The Mustangs made 17-of-33 three point shot attempts (51.5%).

"The key was just getting the ball moving," Eggebrecht said. "Everybody was involved, everyone was working hard. That led to good energy, defensive stops, and making good shots."

Brenden led the charge for Malta with 28 points. He had six treys in the win as well as six assists and two steals. Oxarart had 15 points on five three pointers. Freshman Dawson Hammond had 14 points, three assists, and one steal. Eggebrecht had nine points.

The Mustangs are scheduled to play Poplar on Friday, January 13, at 6 p.m. The Boys C Squad will kick off the night at 3 p.m. The Boys JV will play at 4:30 p.m.

The team will then head to Shelby to take on the Coyotes on Saturday, January 14, at 4 p.m. The Boys JV will start at 1 p.m.