PIONEERS LOSE ANOTHER HEARTBREAKER ON THE ROAD

Detroit, Michigan -  

A month ago, the Delta College men's basketball team got ahead early and frustrated a talented Wayne County squad by beating the Wildcats 76-56.  Saturday afternoon would be a different story as the two teams battled it out from the beginning until the end and Wayne took round two in the series 64-63.                     

The first half went back and forth early with both teams playing solid aggressive defense.  An Allante Wheeler steal led to a Jovon Thomason three pointer and the game was tied 13-13 at the 11 minute mark.  The Pioneers would then go on a 14-6 run and hold a 27-19 lead with 4 minutes left in the half.  The turning point in the half came when Wayne combined a three pointer and an off ball foul leading to a 5 point possession.  The Wildcats used that momentum to carry them to a 33-31 lead heading in to the break.                     

The Wildcats came out of the locker room and pushed their lead to 37-31, with 17 minutes left to play.  Over the span of the next 6 minutes, the Pioneers went on a 20-7 run.  Devin Smith got things rolling when he had a thunderous dunk and added a free throw on the foul.  Jovon Thomason made two three pointers and Allante Wheeler added another three and the Pioneers held a 51-44 lead with 11 minutes left in the game.  The Pioneers would then have a costly eight minute scoring drought and let the Wildcats back in the game.  With two minutes remaining in the game, the Pioneers were down five 60-55.  The Delta men weren't done yet though and a lay-up by Devin Smith, three point play by Allante Wheeler, and four free throws by Jonathan Swift put them back on top 63-62 with less than a minute to play.  With 25 seconds left, Wayne came out of a timeout and missed a jump shot.  The Pioneers secured the rebound but couldn't get the ball up the court as the Wildcats stole the ball and made two free throws to put them back on top 64-63.  A last second shot by the Pioneers didn't go down and the Delta men lost by one.                           

"It is always hard to beat a team twice and we knew going into this game that Wayne was going to put forth a better effort than they did the first time we played them," said head coach Carlos McMath.  "For the most part, we played well.  We had the ball in our hands with the lead late in the game and we just didn't finish it off."    

Jovon Thomason led the Pioneers with 19 points, including 5 three pointers.  Devin Smith added 15 points and Jonathan Swift had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 5 assists.            

"It is very frustrating to let this one slip away tonight," said McMath.  "The challenge is to move forward and focus on our next opponent.  Learn from the mistakes we made and not let them happen again."

The Delta Men's basketball team (9-9, 5-5) will travel to Oakland Community College (17-6, 4-6) on Saturday.  Oakland is currently ranked 20^th in the nation.  In the first meeting between the Pioneers and the Raiders the Pioneers let a 9 point second half lead slip away and the Raiders prevailed 74-64.   Game time is 3:00.