DELTA MEN GET VICTORY ON THE ROAD

Port Huron, MI -  

With only two regular season games remaining, the Delta College men's basketball team is looking to get prepped for a deep tournament run.  Monday night's game at St. Clair County Community College was the first step in that preparation.  The Pioneers got production from everyone in their lineup and carried them to a 78-61 victory over the Skippers.                   

The Skippers got off to a quick start and at the 16:30 mark of the first half had built a 7-0 lead over the Pioneers.  Back to back three pointers by Jovon Thomason and Andrew Miller tied the score at 12-12 with 13:30 remaining in the first half.  Manny Dosanjh's 7 points fueled a 21-8 run over the last ten minutes of the half and the Pioneers held a 37-24 lead heading into halftime.             

Coming out of the break, Trey Newsham hit a three pointer and Devin Smith made a jumper and the Pioneer lead had expanded to 42-24.  A Jonathan Swift lay-up kept the lead at 48-28 with 15:30 remaining.  The Pioneer lead hovered around twenty points until the Skippers hit back to back three pointers and cut the lead to 71-57 with four minutes left.  After a timeout, the Pioneers got back to controlling the tempo of the game and stepped up their defensive pressure to secure the victory.  

"A lot of different guys produced tonight," said head coach Carlos McMath.  "We are working on finalizing our rotation but we need to realize that we are going to ride the hot hand and guys that are producing are going to get the minutes.  That is the mark of a good all-around team.  When your number is called, it is time to step up."     

The Pioneers had a balanced scoring attack and five guys reached double figures.  They were led by Jonathan Swift's 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 steals.  Andrew Miller had a career high 12 points, shooting 4-7 from behind the arc. Jovon Thomason and Trey Newsham both added 11 points.  Devin Smith chipped in with 10 points.           

"I really liked the way we shared the basketball tonight," said McMath.  "We did a better job at pushing the tempo and controlling what we wanted to do.  With the tournament coming up next week, we really only have one more game to fine tune our execution."

With the win over St. Clair, the Pioneers can finish no worse than 6^th place in the MCCAA Eastern Conference.  With a win in the season finale and an Oakland loss, the Pioneers would move up to the 5^th seed heading into the playoffs.      

The Delta Men's basketball team (11-12, 7-8) will wrap up the regular season Wednesday when they host Macomb Community College (22-5, 12-3).  This week, Macomb jumped up in the national rankings to number eleven.  In the first meeting between the two teams, the Pioneers got off to a hot start but Macomb's outside shooting proved to be the difference and they won 75-59.  Game time is set for 7:30 pm at Pioneer Gymnasium.