Delta Men Get Back to Winning Ways

University Center, Michigan -  

Coming off a tough home loss to Oakland, the Delta Men's Basketball team was looking to get back in the win column Saturday afternoon.  The Henry Ford Hawks came into Pioneer gymnasium riding high after a big 83-80 win over Schoolcraft.  In a game that was back and forth, the Pioneers prevailed and pushed their conference record to 3-1 by defeating the visiting Hawks 82-78.                      

The Pioneers came out sluggish in the first half and found themselves down 17-6 early.  A three pointer by Trey Newsham followed up by another three by Jonathan Swift brought the Pioneers back even 20-20 at the midway point of the half.  Both teams got into foul trouble and the remaining ten minutes of the half proved to be a free throw shooting contest. Henry Ford hit 16-17 free throws and pushed their lead to 44-34 heading into the half.                     

With eighteen minutes to play in the second half, the Pioneers found themselves down 50-39.  That was when a huge defensive play by Torion Wilson changed the momentum for the Pioneers.  The next nine minutes the Pioneers went on a 29-9 run to take the lead 68-59.  A Jovon Thomason steal and layup extended the lead to 73-62 at the 4:26 mark of the second half.  Henry Ford would not go down without a fight and a three pointer tied the game back up 77-77 with 1:15 remaining.  Clutch free throws by Virgil Walker, Jonathan Swift, and Trey Newsham sealed the deal down the stretch for the Pioneers and led them to the four point victory.              

"We struggled from the free throw line in the first half hitting only 5-14 and missing the front end of several one and ones," said head coach Carlos McMath.  "In the second half we seemed to focus more at the line and made 13-15.  That was the difference in the game.  We made our free throws and put pressure on Henry Ford."    

Jonathan Swift had a game high 31 points, shooting an impressive 76% from the floor.  Swift also added 6 assists and 8 steals.  Torion Wilson added 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Allante Wheeler and Virgil Walker added 10 points apiece.                

"Jon showed a tremendous amount of leadership tonight," said McMath.  "He took the guys on his back and led us to victory.  Henry Ford is a very good basketball team and I was really impressed with their athleticism and how hard they played.  They never quit and we had to earn this game from the start to the finish."

The Pioneers will have no time to celebrate as they will need to get back to the court and prepare for a tough road game on Wednesday night.  "Year in and year out, Mott is always at the top of the league.  They are a great program, they are well coached, and are extremely talented.  This will be a tough road test for us and we must get up and be ready to play," said McMath.         

 The Delta Men's basketball team (7-5, 3-1) will travel to Mott Community College (13-3, 2-1) on Wednesday.  Last season, the Pioneers split the season series with the Mott Bears.  Game time is 7:30 at Steve Schmidt Gymnasium on the campus of Mott Community College.