Mustangs defeat Wolves, Blue Ponies

It's not typical that an athlete scores 17 points in a game on their 17th birthday, but that's exactly what junior Taylor Matthews did in Malta's win over Wolf Point.

Matthews was second only to Nate Costin, who scored 18 in scoring during Malta's 75-43 victory over the Wolves last Thursday in Malta. Ostin Welch added 11 points to the total.

"It was pretty exciting," Matthews said about playing on his birthday. "Everything is a little more intense and you are focused, it seems."

The Mustangs also defeated the Havre Blue Ponies 54-42 last Saturday to split the season series at one win apiece.

The pair of wins sets up Malta to play Rocky Boy this Friday in Malta and then Roundup on Saturday.

In the team's win over Wolf Point, Malta fell behind early, getting outscored 17-12 in the first quarter.

"On defense I think we started off slow again in the first (quarter)," Costin said. "We got down by five but we corrected it. Defense leads to offense and that's how we got that lead."

The team started to pick up the momentum led by an aggressive defense that helped Malta go on an 11-0 run that ended in a 21-7 deficit before the ending of the first half. The score at halftime was 33-24.

"We got our intensity up and focus up," Costin said.

Matthews was a force in the post, picking up his points exclusively in the paint, while also going 3-for-3 at the charity stripe.

When asked about the key to his strong outings in the post this season, Matthews gave credit to his teammates.

"Having someone at practice to push you and challenge you everyday inside the post," Matthews said giving credit to Tanner Smith, Kendall Koss and John Fox.

Malta had initially started the game focusing on scoring in the paint, rather than attacking the perimeter.

"We knew we could get inside if we worked the ball a little bit and that was our goal," Costin said.

Malta would outscore Wolf Point 19-10 in the third quarter and then 23-9 in the fourth quarter.

The win over Wolf Point helped Malta extend their lead over the 2B conference, as the team now boasts a 7-0 record in the conference.

"It feels good knowing that we have the lead in the conference going in," Blake Sjostrom said. "But it does kind of put a target on our back as the number one team. We just have to fight through that and play hard every game."

The Mustangs wanted to even the score against Havre, who defeated the Mustangs 59-56 earlier in the season. Matthews believed the team had a formula that would serve them well.

"We gotta come out focused, know where our shooters are and box out well as a team," Matthews said.

Malta defeated the Blue Ponies 54-42 last Saturday night in Havre, led by Costin, who scored 18 points. Welch added 13 points and Hunter Love added six.

Malta's game against Rocky Boy is scheduled for Friday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m. The team will then travel to Roundup on Saturday, February 4; that game being scheduled for 5:30 p.m.