Delta Basketball Suffers First Loss of Conference Season

University Center, Michigan -  

The Delta Men's basketball team knew they would be in for a dog fight when the 13^th ranked Oakland Community College Raiders came to Pioneer Gymnasium Wednesday night.  The Pioneers were riding a two game winning streak and sitting atop the MCCAA Eastern Conference Division.  In a game that went back and forth the Pioneers found themselves on the losing end 74-64.                 

The Raiders set the tone early, knocking down five of their first six three pointers to take a 23-15 lead at the 9:23 mark of the first half.  Two Devin Smith lay-ups and a finish by Torion Wilson gave the Pioneers the energy they were looking for and the game was tied 33-33 with 2:09 left in the half.  The final two minutes of the half went back and forth and the Pioneers held a slim 36-35 lead heading into the break.                   

Coming out of the half, the Pioneers went on a 10-2 run and built a 46-37 lead at the 16:36 mark.  The next four minutes were dominated by the Raiders as they went on a 13-2 run to regain the lead at 50-48.  A three pointer by Trey Newsham put the Pioneers back on top 51-50.  Unfortunately for the Pioneers, that would be their last lead and the Raiders pulled back in front and cruised to the ten point victory.           

"In the second half, we came out and worked the ball inside and built a nice lead" said head coach Carlos McMath.  "We got away from that and started settling for jump shots.  We got into some foul trouble on the defensive end and that proved to be costly tonight."    

Jonathan Swift led the Pioneers with 15 points and 8 rebounds.  Allante Wheeler had a great all-around floor game with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.  Devin Smith and Virgil Walker both added 10 points.            

"We need to continue to focus on limiting teams to one shot per possession," said McMath.  "Anytime you give a team two, three, or four opportunities to score on any given possession they will take advantage of it."

The Delta Men's basketball team (6-5, 2-1) will host the Henry Ford Hawks (4-8, 1-1) on Saturday.  The Hawks are coming off an impressive 83-80 victory over national powerhouse Schoolcraft Community College.  Game time is 3:00 at Pioneer Gymnasium.