Pioneers Suffer First Conference Loss

Detroit, MI -On Saturday afternoon, the Delta Pioneers took their two game winning streak on the road to face the Wayne County Wildcats.  A back and forth affair went to two overtimes before Wayne finally made several tough baskets to beat the Pioneers, 91-84. 

Both teams tried establishing an inside game early as Delta sophomore Dan Stenback and freshman Jake Thomann countered the play of Wayne's 6'11'' center Marice Wright and 6'6'' forward Dixon Ogwo.    A three point play by Thomann midway through the first half tied the game at 18 apiece and provided a spark that propelled the Pioneers to a 19-9 run and eight point halftime lead. 

"We knew that Wayne is a strong defensive team that will not give up or give in," said first year Delta coach Carlos McMath.  "We had to finish the game out as hard as we started."

True to McMath's words, Wayne fought back feverishly to take a lead late in regulation. Delta remained resilient, however, as Jovon Thomason hit two clutch free throws to tie the game, 76-76 and push it into overtime. 

"Heading into the first overtime I reiterated to the team that they needed to play with confidence and use the past experiences to play with composure." said McMath.  Delta had dropped games earlier in the year by a handful of points so throwing possesions away was a concern.  As early as last week, they turned the tide by squeaking out an overtime victory at Macomb.

Once again, the end of the first overtime saw DC down by two with less than 12 seconds remaining.  This time, Devin Smith came to the rescue and hit a driving layup to tie the game and push it into a second overtime period.   

"We'd played confident," said McMath.  "We played a doublt OT game against Lakeland right out of the gate this year."  Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the shots didn't fall and the Wildcats used a 6-0 run to carry them on to the seven point victory. 

Jovon Thomason led the offense for DC hitting 11 of 16 from the floor and finishing with 27 points.  Allante Wheeler added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks.

"We have been in a fight in every game we have played this year, especially the last three conference games," said McMath.  "We have to understand that every night we have to be focused on one thing, that is to be 1-0."  

The Pioneers will look to rebound on Wednesday January 13^th at home against Oakland Community College.  Game is scheduled to start at 7:30PM.