On Jan. 21, the Mustangs beat Folsom Lake Falcons 75-68 in a conference home game. With the win, Delta moves to 7-13 and 3-5 in conference play. Instead of being played in 4 quarters the game was played in two 20 minute halves.
The Mustangs remained in the lead throughout the first half but Folsom kept it close, however, the team stepped up big defensively at the end of the half.
The Mustangs had confidence going into the halftime with a lead of 13 points.
Head Coach Rich Ressa said he felt the team executed well and praised the defense.
“The scout was to guard two really good players, one could shoot it and one could put it on the ground,” he said. “The defense did really well, I felt that when their better players were driving we helped very well and we got out in transition which included better offensive rebounding too.”
Ressa says the team has the confidence to play with the best of the Big 8 conference.
At the beginning of the second half Folsom Lake cut the lead to 4 points but after regrouping the Mustangs got it together.
Guards No. 3 Lorenzo Leonard and No. 10 Joey Fross led the team in scoring with 15 points. Frost came off the bench and provided a great scoring spark making 5 of his 8 shots.
Starters Leonard and No. 4 Andruw Galindo facilitated the offense and made great plays scoring and passing.
Fross said he enjoys his role and that communication is key.
“Me and the coaches have discussed my role and I feel like it is good for me and I’ve been able to stay productive through it. We just have to keep playing hard, keep trusting each other, keep swinging the rock and communicating as a team.”
Freshman Center No. 23 Dwight Strickland provided good rebounding and scoring off of the Mustangs misses. He had multiple blocks and was able to make his free throws throughout the game.
Strickland had 10 points and 15 rebounds and Galindo had 8 points with 3 assists and a steal.
With two minutes left No. 12 Donovan Saiyad hit two clutch shots making the lead 11 and sealed the win for the Mustangs. The game ended with free throws for each team.
Galindo said it felt good to remain in the lead throughout the game
“It’s still mid-season so any win is good for us right now. It helped our confidence that we led so big in the first half. I just had to do what I could offensively, it’s all about the team at this point, I will do whatever I can do to help the team.”
Throughout the month, the Mustangs will be playing in a lot of conference games.
