Men's Basketball Lose Tough Fought Game to Schoolcraft

University Center- While the first meeting between the Delta Men's basketball team and Schoolcraft Community College was dominated by the Schoolcraft Ocelots, round two on Saturday between the first place Ocelots and the second place Pioneers was a classic showdown that ended much closer. In a game that had 11 lead changes and was tied 13 times, Schoolcraft used clutch free throw shooting to prevail 92-83.

With the win, Schoolcraft clinches 1st place in the MCCAA East with a record of 12-2 while improving to 17-10 overall. The loss pushes the Pioneers to 6th place, still only a half game out of second place, and brings their record to 9-6 in the conference and 9-18 overall.

A three point play by Pioneers Allante Wheeler gave Delta an early lead, 16-14, with twelve minutes to play. Schoolcraft then began to crash the offensive glass and get to the free throw line. The Ocelots used 9 offensive rebounds and shot 11-11 from the line to take a 42-39 lead into halftime.

The second half was just like the first as both teams took turns sharing the lead. An Allante Wheeler dunk and a Martel Handley layup gave the Pioneers a 78-72 lead with 5:35 left to play. Two three pointers by Schoolcraft's Tyler Johnson, however, tied the game back up with 3:45 left.

In the final stretch of the game, the Pioneers couldn't get a shot to fall and had some costly turnovers. Meanwhile, the Ocelots made clutch free throws to propel them to the victory. On the game, Schoolcraft was 27-28 from the free throw line while the Pioneers were 13-19.

"We did a really good job controlling the tempo for a majority of the game today," said head Coach Carlos McMath. "For a two minute stretch late in the game we got away from our game plan and that is what ultimately hurt us."

Delta had a balanced scoring attack with four guys finishing in double figures. The Pioneers were led by Jon Swift with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Martel Handley added 15 points and 4 rebounds. Jovon Thomason and Mason VanPamel had 14 and 13 points respectively.

"We still control our own destiny Wednesday night. If we win, we have a great chance of securing home court advantage heading into the playoffs," said McMath.

The Pioneers host St. Clair Community College Wednesday night. In their first meeting, the Pioneers prevailed 79-50. Game time is 7:30 at Pioneer Gymnasium.