Mustangs defeat Scotties, Coyotes last week; To face Harlem tomorrow

The Malta Mustangs are trending in the right direction after picking up wins last week in both of their outings. The first win came against division rival Glasgow last Thursday in Glasgow. The second came against Shelby in Malta. The team is set to see their only action of the week in Harlem against the Wildcats tomorrow night.

Malta defeated Harlem 54-28 on December 18, but Malta Head Coach David Costin believes the Wildcats will be tougher this time around.

"They have another kid back, Marcus Henry who plays guard," Coach Costin said. "He's a solid player. I think that makes a difference."

Coach Costin has been following Henry closely and noted that he has been in double digits in about every game he has played.

"Our challenge with Harlem is guarding the perimeter," Coach Costin said. "They don't have a real strong inside game right now."

In the team's 58-39 win against Glasgow, Malta was led by Allen Williamson who had 21 points.

"Allen's just been his consistent self, as he has been all year," Coach Costin said. "He gives us the same thing every night, just about the same point production, same effort level, same defensive level every night. That's nice because we know we can count on him night in and night out."

Devon Raybon also impressed scoring 14 points.

"Devon played well both nights," Coach Costin said. "He's just getting a little bit better every time he steps onto the floor, whether it's a game or practice. He's done a pretty good job of that."

Coach Costin noted that there were still a few mistakes that could be chalked up to inexperience.

"But he's started to get to where (those mistakes) are less and less," he said. "He's playing pretty well for us. He has come a long ways since the first day he stepped into Malta and the first day of the season this year. He should be playing some pretty good basketball for us come tournament time."

Ostin Welch had eight points in the game.

"Ostin is shooting the ball well, he's rebounding the ball well for us and defensively he is playing well, so we're excited for him," Coach Costin said. "He's stepping up."

Nate Costin had six points. Hunter Love had five points. Jace Bishop and Tyson Carney each had two points.

"Glasgow is a team that plays very hard and they seem to rebound really well," said Coach Costin. "Defensively, I thought Glasgow played a good game against us but their struggles come on the offensive end and I think we defended pretty well. That was the difference in the game. We were better on the offensive end."

In Malta's win against Shelby, Williamson had a game-leading 25 points. Costin had 20 points.

"We've had some kids in a little bit of a slump," Coach Costin said. "Nate hasn't shot the ball well for a couple games but he seemed to come out of that and shot the ball very well against Shelby. That was good to see."

Welch had 14 points. Raybon had seven points. Bishop had one point.