By Justin Sharp
On Thursday, November 30th, the Mustang Men started their 2023-2024 basketball season against the Red Cloud Warriors at home. The first quarter started off slow with Silver Lake leading the Warriors 6-4. The second quarter is where everything got started, with the boys knocking down multiple threes to break the game open with a 19-point lead going into halftime. Many Mustangs contributed to that lead with 9 players scoring. Senior Jordan Faimon led the charge with 10 points for the night, and sophomore Landon Duester and senior Tayten Menke followed closely behind with 9 and 8 points, respectively. Head Coach Shaun Fisher started, “After looking back at the first two games it was great to get these guys back on the court. They have put in a lot of time during the offseason, and it was nice to see that hard work put to use. Our goal is to get the defense on their toes during transition and try to make some quick baskets. After the first quarter of the Red Cloud game, I began to wonder if it was going to work.” After a successful first half, the boys were determined to continue their dominant performance. “The second quarter proved to me that we can do it. The guys put up 27 points that quarter and extended their lead,” Coach Fisher started. “Our third and fourth quarters were a bit sluggish but they showed a lot of grit and still pulled out the win.” In the second half, the Red Cloud Warriors outscored the Mustangs, 25 to 13, but fortunately, the Mustangs came out on top with a final score of 46-39.
Following an all-around great game against Red Cloud, the Silver Lake boys were determined to get another win against the Deshler Dragons. It was a close game in the first quarter with the Mustangs leading the Dragons 13-9. The second quarter began and the boys trailed for a few points but began to regain the lead, heading into the second half with a 21-20 point lead. “We all understood that it was going to be a difficult test. We had a lot of guys step up both offensively and defensively. They had some quick guards and some tough posts but we were able to contain them and come out with a win.” The second half is where everything got started, with many of the boys scoring point after point. Menke and Faimon led the team on offense; Menke contributed 17 points with 12 coming from behind the arch, and Faimon added 16 himself. The Mustangs came out on top with a 51-32 final score, and they advanced to 2-0 on the fresh season.