Mustangs run past Panthers in Malta

The Malta Mustangs Basketball Team posted a dominant win in their season opener over Roundup last Saturday, January 9.

After the game, senior co-captain Kooper Oxarart was asked how it felt to play a home basketball game given current events.

"It's exciting," Oxarart said. "Just to be able to get back on the court with my friends and my team. It was a fun game. I'm glad we are back and that we are able to have a season."

The Mustangs defeated the Panthers 67-39 after the team stifled Roundups offense in the first quarter of the game. Malta scored 24 points while Roundup only scored two field goals, the first, a trey in the Panther's first possession of the game.

"We just had to stay mentally focused," Oxarart said. "We knew that we were going to win from the beginning, so that helped us."

Offensively, Malta was led by Rex Williamson who scored 15 points, seven of which came in the first quarter. He also forced two turnovers on Roundup's second and third drives of the game, which he quickly converted to fastbreak layups. Williamson also had two three-pointers in the win.

Senior Pierce Mortenson, the team's other captain, proved to be dominant in the paint, scoring 13 points, most of which came in the paint.

"I have been working hard at learning the post position," Mortenson said. "Going up straight instead of fading away; just going up strong. It definitely helped tonight."

Junior Connor Tuss added 12 points, eight of which came in the third quarter. Oxarart had 11 points, which included a pair of treys. Darrow Messerly had six points, Seth Siewing had five points, David Pittman had three points, and Kaden Bishop had two points.

Despite their struggles in the first period, Roundup fought back hard and outscored Malta 22-14 in the second period. Malta would seal the game by holding Roundup to 17 points in the second half while scoring 29.

Malta relied on their bench throughout the game, giving starters time to rest. The reserve players played with confidence offensively and defensively.

"They are really talented, for one," Mortenson said. " They move the ball really well, which is a plus. They can give us a break and we can trust them not to turn the ball over and score for us."

The 2-0 Mustangs have a reason to be confident, as they start the year with more momentum than last season.

"That's pretty great because I think last year we lost one of our first games," Oxarart said. "I feel like we are going to have a winning season this year and it's going to be fun to kick some butt."