PIONEER MEN BOUNCE BACK WITH HUGE WIN OVER ST. CLAIR

University Center, Michigan -  

After back to back losses to MCCAA East leaders Schoolcraft and Mott, the Delta College men's basketball team was in desperate need of a win to get back on track.  On Saturday afternoon, they hosted the scrappy, sharp shooting St. Clair County Community College Skippers.  The Pioneers were without the services of their sharp shooting guard, Trey Newsham, who was unavailable due to an injury.  Without Newsham, the other Pioneer guards picked up the slack and led the squad to a 101-72 victory.      

After a slow start, the Pioneers got a spark off the bench when DoMariye Lloyd had a dunk and put back lay-up.  Allante Wheeler added a three pointer and Delta built a 19-11 lead at the twelve minute mark.  A Mason Vanpamel three pointer and a Manny Dosanjh jump shot pushed the Pioneer lead to 29-16 with nine minutes to play in the half.  The Pioneers would end the half on a 17-10 run and carry a 46-26 lead into the locker room.                 

The Skippers started the second half on fire from behind the arc and at the 16:30 mark of the second half the Pioneer lead was cut down to 54-42.  The Pioneers responded when Mason Vanpamel and Jon Swift hit key three pointers and sparked a 27-10 run and the home team held an 81-52 lead with ten minutes to play.  At the five minute mark, Jovon Thomason had a steal and lay-up giving the Pioneers their largest lead of the afternoon 93-61.  Guard play proved to be the difference and Delta cruised to a 29 point victory.        

"Going into the game, we knew that they were a good outside shooting team," said head coach Carlos McMath.  "We wanted to counter them by applying pressure to their ball handlers, contest all of their shots, and limit them to one shot per possession.  In the end, we were successful because we wore them down."    

The Pioneers had a balanced scoring attack and six players finished in double figures.  They were led by Jon Swift with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals.  Jovon Thomason had 15 points and Virgil Walker added 13 points and 8 rebounds.  Torion Wilson chipped in with 12 points and 8 rebounds.    

"We had two tough back to back games," said McMath.  "This afternoon we responded and found some success getting back to playing our brand of basketball."

The Delta Men's basketball team (8-7, 4-3) will travel to Macomb Community College (16-3, 6-1) on Wednesday.  Macomb is currently tied for 1^st.   Last season the Pioneers swept the regular season series with the Monarchs but fell to them in the district playoff matchup.  The Monarchs are currently ranked 18^th in the nation.  Game time is 7:30.