Mustangs Beat 2B Foes, Fall to Fergus

The Malta Mustangs basketball team won two of their three games last week, defeating district foe Glasgow 79-53 in Glasgow, on Thursday, February 1, and Wolf Point 92-66 in Malta on Friday, February 2.

Malta fell 62-60 to the 2023 Class A Champion Fergus Gold Eagles in their second match of the season on Saturday, February 3, in Lewistown, and the Mustangs' win-streak ended at 11 games.

Malta were scheduled to face the Class A Havre Blue Ponies for the second time this season on Tuesday, February 6. Recap of that game will be in next week's PCN.

The Mustangs will face the Poplar Indians in Malta on Friday, February 9, at 7:30 p.m. The night will serve as Senior Night, Little Mustang Night and Little Cheer night. The Mustangs will also host the Harlem Wildcats on Saturday, February 10, at 7 p.m.

In Malta's win over Wolf Point, the Mustangs jumped out to a 33-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. Both teams scored 23 in the second quarter, bringing the halftime score to 56-40. Malta was able to extend their lead to 76-47 after outscoring the Wolves 20-7 in the third quarter. Wolf Point outscored Malta 19-16 in the fourth, with Malta using their reserves with only a few minutes left in the game.

Junior Bohdi Brenden led the charge for Malta with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Treyton Wilke had 19 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals.

"We just went out, played hard, and kept doing what we do," Wilke said after the game. "It starts with defense, when our defense is on, our offense comes on and that's what we did tonight."

He was asked about the first quarter, in which Malta scored 33 points.

"Coach always tells us to come out firing," Wilke said. "That sets the tone for the rest of the game."

Mason Simanton had a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double, two steals and two blocks. Dawson Hammond had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Carson Ottinger had eight points and four rebounds. Duke Williamson had seven points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Kazner Oxarart had three points and Regan Stuart had two points.

Malta made 52% of their shots from the field. They were 28-of-51 (54.9%) from two point range, and 9-of-20 (45%) from three point range.

The Mustangs scored 29 points in transition and 26 points off of the 20 turnovers that they forced.

In the team's win over the Scotties, Malta was led by Brenden who had 28 points, six assists, and five steals. Wilke had 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Ottinger had 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists. Hammond had six points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Williamson had six points and nine rebounds. Simanton had three points and four rebounds.

Malta scored 20 points off of 20 forced turnovers. The Mustangs made 43.8% of their shots from the field. They were 20-of-45 from two point range and 12-of-28 from three point range.

After the game, Williamson was asked what the team needed to do to improve as the district tournament draws closer.

"Just focus on the little things," Williamson said. "Rebounding. Defense."

Malta outscored the Scotties 41-15 in the first half and they reached their highest lead of 31 points in the few minutes of the third quarter. Glasgow outscored Malta 17-15 in the third quarter, and Malta outscored the Scotties 23-21 in the fourth quarter.

In Malta's loss to Fergus, Malta was led by Wilke who had 22 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Brenden had 20 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Hammond had nine points, two rebounds, and two steals. Simanton had six points, five rebounds, and one steal. Ottinger had three points, five rebounds, and one steal.

The Mustangs led by as much as 14 points, but the team was unable to keep pace with Fergus who sank five treys in the second half of the third. Fergus outscored Malta 21-18 in the third and Malta's lead was 51-47 heading into the fourth period.

Fergus maintained their momentum and outscored Malta 15-9 in the fourth quarter.