Mustangs to face Glasgow, Shelby

The Malta Mustangs are now 12-2 picking up a couple of non district wins last week after defeating the Rocky Boy Northern Stars in Malta last Friday night and then Roundup in Roundup on Saturday night.

Malta will see Glasgow tomorrow night at Malta High School at 7:30 p.m., giving Malta a chance to sweep Glasgow for the first time in a few years. The last time these teams met in Glasgow, Malta won 58-39.

They will also see Shelby on Saturday night in Shelby at 5:30 p.m. The last time these teams played each other in January, Malta defeated the Coyotes 67-51.

Malta had a dominant 75-44 victory against Rocky Boy last Friday, which was led by senior Allen Williamson and junior Nate Costin who each had 20 points.

“We played pretty intense defense,” Costin said. “We worked hard . We were pretty patient, got good looks and it just went right for us.”

Tyson Carney and Ostin Welch had nine points apiece. Devon Raybon had six points. Hunter Love had five points. Taylor Matthews had four points.

It would be hard to believe because of a 22-7 effort, but Malta’s offense struggled early, until Costin triggered a seven point swing midway through the quarter.

“Rebounding could’ve went a little better,” Costin said about the slow start. “We probably could’ve boxed out better but other than that our offense was pretty good.”

Williamson helped lead a 20 point effort in the second quarter for the Mustangs, the team also held Rocky Boy to 16 points, which gave Malta a 42-23 lead going into halftime.

“Transition offense was a key for our win,” Williamson said. “We have good, solid defense and we were pretty patient on offense and got some good shots off.”

Malta would extend their lead by six by the end of the third quarter; the score was 58-33.

Malta would have most of their starters out in the second half of the fourth quarter, but the effort would remain the same as the second team squad would hold Rocky Boy to 11 points, while scoring 17.

Malta would almost lose their second game against Roundup last Saturday, but held on to win 66-64, avenging their only regular season loss (loss to Fairfield was at Three Forks Invitational in December.)

The Mustangs were led in victory by Welch who had 18. Costin had 16 points. Raybon had 14 points. Williamson had eight points. Love had five points. Jace Bishop had three points. Carney had two points.

A strong 26-7 run in the third quarter would flip the script for Malta who was trailing at halftime.

The quarter by quarter scores: 22-11 Roundup lead. 32-26 Roundup lead at Halftime. 52-39 Malta lead. 66-64 Malta.