By Justin Jurek, Sports Reporter.
The Men’s Pioneers basketball team, 0-5, attempted to get their first win on the season when they took on Siena Heights JV squad. However, they came up a little short, losing by a score of 91-80.
The whole game was a back and forth battle that never got above a nine point difference until late in the game when Delta force a foul to stop the clock. Siena Heights took a 39-34 lead into halftime. Martel Handley led the scoring for Delta with eight points.
The Pioneers came out of halftime ready to go taking the lead just a few minutes into the second half.
The whole game was a battle, and things got interesting halfway through the second half, as a loose ball scuffle escalated quickly. After a minute of pushing and shoving, the referees and coaches got all the players back to their side of the court. However, someone had to be punished. The punishment did not just fall on one person though, as four players were ejected from the game, three of which were Delta players.
The Pioneers had a very short bench as they now had to play without Allante Wheeler, Devin Smith and Dan Stenback. That bench got even shorter as Jake Thomann and Martel Handley fouled out.
Siena Heights took an 11 point lead late in the second half pulling away enough to seal the game.
Leading the Delta squad in scoring was Javon Thomason with 15 points in the game.
Following the game, interviews with coaches and players were cancelled. Athletic Director Shelly Raube said it was in the best interest of all to not have post game interviews.