Delta Uses Defensive Intensity to Beat Wayne County

University Center - The Delta men's basketball team pushed their winning streak to three games in a row on Saturday as they beat the Wayne County Wildcats, 59-53. With the win, the Pioneers are now in third place in the MCCAA East with a 6-4 record and sit at 6-16 overall. The Wildcats drop to 6-5 in the conference and 10-10 on the season.

Delta came into the game looking for some revenge after losing a heartbreaker earlier in the year to Wayne 91-84 in double overtime.  It didn't look promising early on as Wayne jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held a 29-25 advantage at the half. Neither team could generate much offense but Wayne County was able to take advantage of second chance points, netting nearly half of it's total offense (12 points) on putbacks and offensive rebounds.

"We were fortunate heading into halftime only down four," said Pioneer head coach Carlos McMath. "Our defense kept us in the game but our offensive execution needed to get better."

The Pioneers stepped it up in the second half before a three-point play by Martel Handley gave Delta it's first lead of the game at the 15:42 mark, 33-32.  DC continued to up their lead with back-to-back threes by Handley and Jovon Thomason to push the score to 39-32.

Delta would finish the game on a 9-3 run. Clutch free throws by Jon Swift, Andrew Miller, and Allante Wheeler in the last minute iced the game and preserved the victory.

Leading the way for the Pioneers was Martel Handley with 12 points and seven rebounds. Devin Smith added 12 points and five boards.

"We always talk about playing each possession and not taking any plays off," said McMath. "Tonight we did just that. We finished the game really well. Holding a team to three points in the last 5 minutes is a great way to finish off a game."

"I was very pleased with our focus and defensive intensity. We need to continue to let our defense fuel our offense and control the tempo of the game."

The Pioneers are back in action Monday night when they travel to Alpena Community College. Game time is scheduled for 7:30.