By Samantha Bonifas
At the beginning of the basketball season, the Mustang men set a goal: 10 wins in their season. An impressive week of play took the Mustangs one step closer to achieving their goal. Silver Lake faced off against Giltner in an away game battle on February 9. The Mustangs jumped to an aggressive start in the first quarter, outscoring the Hornets 20-8. Silver Lake utilized the dish and score from guards to junior Jordan Faimon to generate an impressive offense. At half, Silver Lake led 26-15. A dominating second half from the Mustangs sent Silver Lake home with a 55-27 victory. Junior Jordan Faimon led the Mustangs in scoring with 17 points. Freshman Beau Bonifas and Junior Tayten Menke each pitched in 10 points as well.
The next day, Silver Lake took the home court for the final time of the season in a battle of the Mustangs versus Meridian. Silver Lake ended the first quarter leading Meridian by just one point, 12 – 11. In the second quarter, the Silver Lake press drew numerous fouls, sending Meridian’s Issac Kompf to the line to shoot 13 free throws in the first half. Despite this, shooting efforts from Silver Lake proved to be too much to handle for Meridian. Silver Lake ended the first half with a 32-18 lead. Silver Lake rolled through the second half, completing the game for a 62-36 lead. Bonifas led the Mustangs in scoring with 18 points, all of which came from the 3-point line. Bonifas commented about the momentum the team had in offense. “The bench was a big part of it. Everyone was feeling it and the atmosphere pushed us to do well in the game.” The Mustangs head into their final week of regular season play with a 9-11 record.