On Feb. 13, Delta College Mustangs went against American River College Beavers in Delta’s Blanchard gym in the 25th anniversary Coaches vs. Cancer game.
The Mustangs donned pops of pink along with their breast cancer awareness t-shirts to signify how the next couple basketball games, both men and women’s, are holding contests and raffles to raise money to benefit the American Cancer Society.
Delta’s cheer team also had pink accents in their uniform with their pom poms to continue raising cancer awareness.
“Coach Johnson for the women’s team, she does a really great job of coordinating those extracurricular things that make it really fun for our students,” said Men’s Head Coach Rich Ressa. “We have to make sure that the kids know it’s more important than just wearing a t-shirt and wearing the color. We’ve talked about it multiple times. We’ve actually done cancer walks and, you know, it keeps things in perspective of why we are doing this and what it’s for.”
Ressa has been the men’s basketball coach for almost 20 years.
During the first half of the game the Mustangs and Beavers were neck and neck with the Beavers slightly ahead.
Delta fouled 12 times while American River fouled 13 times during the entire game.
The Mustangs pulled ahead in the second half and won the game with a 69-60 score.
Though the crowd was scarce, those who were there to support either team cheered enthusiastically whenever their team scored.
“I like coming to support the basketball team because you gotta support the Delta sports,” said spectator Morgan Hall.
During halftime, Muneer Khan, 9, and Jamir Mellion, 8, went head to head during the halftime shooting contest to “Take a Shot Against Cancer.”
Delta’s cheer team and mascot also helped the two keep a track of the scores and subdue the basketballs from traveling too far away.
