Delta Men Ride Hot Start to Victory

University Center, Michigan -  

Following up a decisive victory over Alpena on Wednesday night, the Pioneers found themselves with a tough challenge in front of them.  The Wayne County Community College Wildcats brought an athletic and physical squad into Pioneer gymnasium Saturday afternoon.  At the end of the day, the Pioneers were up to the challenge and defeated the Wildcats 76-56.  With the win, the Delta men are now tied for first in the MCCAA Eastern Conference.                 

Right from the tip-off, the Pioneers brought effort and energy on the offensive and defensive end of the court.  Jonathan Swift hit back to back three pointers and the Pioneers took an early lead 12-0 at the 14 minute mark of the first half.  With 8 minutes left in the half, Trey Newsham pushed the lead to 21-6 with a three pointer followed up by a driving lay-up.  The last 8 minutes neither team could get much going on the offensive end and the Pioneers maintained a 31-20 lead at the half.                

Coming out of the half, the Devin Smith and Newsham fueled an 11-5 run and expanded the Delta College lead to 42-25.  A three pointer by Mason Vanpamel gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the afternoon 55-32 at the 9:40 mark.  The Pioneers struggled from the free throw line all afternoon but made some clutch free throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.       

"I really thought we played hard tonight," said head coach Carlos McMath.  "Wayne always crashes the offensive glass well and for the most part we did a good job at limiting them to one shot each possession.  We left a lot of points at the foul line and that is something we need to continue to work on."    

Devin Smith came off the bench to lead the Pioneers with 17 points.  Jonathan Swift had 16 points and 4 steals.  Trey Newsham added 13 points.  Torion Wilson and Mason Vanpamel had 8 and 7 rebounds respectively.            

"Devin really stepped up this afternoon," said McMath.  "That is exactly what we needed and shows me where we are at right now as a team.  If one guy is having a tough night or is not available to go, then the next guy will get his opportunity.  Devin took advantage of those extended minutes."

The Delta Men's basketball team (6-4, 2-0) will host the Oakland Community College Raiders (13-2, 0-2) on Wednesday.  Last season, the Raiders defeated the Pioneers in two tightly fought games.  Game time is 7:30 at Pioneer Gymnasium.