Mustangs defeat Wolf Point; Head into Break 5-1

The Malta Mustangs were in a good place going into the winter break after defeating the Wolf Point Wolves 75-44 last Wednesday in Malta and defeating the Poplar Indians 69-36 in Poplar last Tuesday. The team’s record stands at 5-1, which is a good start going into the winter break.

In the team’s win against Wolf Point the team was led by Allen Williamson who scored 25 points.

Nate Costin scored 12 points. Ostin Welch had 11 points. Tyson Carney had 10 points. Devin Raybon had seven points. Jace Bishop had six points. Konner Kuehn had three points and Cru Darrah had one point.

Wolf Point showed flashes of a team that competed with Malta in the 2013 Championship game in the first quarter, knocking down some big shots and putting up 15 points. Though the Wolves started off strong, they were no match for the Mustangs who outscored them in all four quarters.

Though Wolf Point started out with a hot hand, the Mustangs knew how to slow them down.

“We just had to keep them in front of us, keep a hand in their face and keep them from getting easy release points,” Williamson said.

Malta’s defense held Wolf Point to six points in the second quarter, while the Mustangs scored 16 of their own. The Mustangs then outscored Wolf Point 23-12 in the third and 13-11 in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs look like contenders so far this season and one big reason had been their ability to protect the paint.

Going from not having a true post player last year to having Raybon step up has been huge for the team.

“I haven’t played basketball that long, but I like it,” Raybon said. “I’m just glad to be out there.”

Having Raybon out there, has allowed Williamson to make plays outside of the paint and see more of the floor.

“It gives me a lot more opportunities to play outside and inside-out,” Williamson said. “I still like playing post every once in a while but I like being able to dribble too.”

Going into the break 5-1, the Mustangs aren’t overlooking opponents.

“The main thing is we can’t take any team lightly,” Raybon said. “We gotta come out every night and play our game. We can’t stoop down to other teams’ levels and just do what we know how to do.”

There are a few things the team will be working on to improve their game.

“Rebounding. We need to box out a lot better and our defense can step up a little bit,” William-son said. “We need to keep people in front of us and be more patient on offense.”

Malta has shown against Wolf Point that they can run both man and press coverage quite well. Both defenses can be chaotic, but they have their place.

“I guess it just depends on who we play,” Williamson said on which defense he prefers. “On a team like Wolf Point, I like going man because we can stick with them. When we’re facing big people it’s nicer to be in a zone press. With me and Devon back they won’t get to the rim easily.”