By Libby Soucek
The Mustang boys started their new year with a full week of games. First, they went head-to-head with the Pleasanton Bulldogs. The Mustangs ended their first quarter, 5-9. Battling some
tough defense from the Bulldogs, the Mustangs were able to collect 13 points in the second
quarter, ending the first half 21-22. In the third, the Bulldogs started strong and were able to take the
lead from the Mustangs with the score of 32-28. In the fourth, the Mustangs were fired up, and
prepared to work for the win. Baskets were continuously being made on both sides of the court
but the Mustangs were able to outplay the Bulldogs, with some important free throws being made at the end of the fourth quarter, and end the game with their fifth victory of the season, and the final score of 50-49.
Senior Lane Conway led the team with 16 points, junior Landon Duester trailed behind
him with 13. Conway commented on the team’s performance against the Bulldogs defense:
“The adjustments we made were to slow down, handle the pressure of Pleasanton’s press
their press and defense but we still have a lot of progress to make with executing the little
things.” Lane Conway and his brother Casey Conway both carried the team in steals with 4 for
each of them. Casey Conway also rebounded the most getting 6 total rebounds, contributing to
the team’s 25. They go on to compete against Blue Hill on January 10. Lane Conway noted, “This
week to prepare for Blue Hill we are keying on the little things like help defense and moving with
a purpose on offense.”
The next day the Mustangs traveled to Blue Hill in hopes of adding another win to their
record. Head coach Shaun Fisher noted, “My thoughts going into the game was that it was
going to be a very difficult game for the boys. The environment and history of the two programs
go back a long way. We knew this game wasn’t going to be given to us, so we had to step up to
the challenge and rise above it (which they did).” The boys kept the lead for the first half, ending
the first quarter 9-7, and the second quarter 19-16. Going into the second half the team knew
that the Bobcats weren’t going to give up. The Mustangs fought hard keeping their dominance
through the third ending the quarter 30-27. The fourth quarter was filled with anticipation and the
Mustang’s secure defense acquired yet another win, with the final score of 37-31.
Brothers Casey and Lane Conway obtained the most points for the Mustangs totaling 9
points each. Landon Duester followed close behind them with 8 points. Casey Conway
was the leader in rebounds for the night, earning himself 11 total rebounds. Paxton Sorensen
attained 3 of the team’s 8 steals. Coach Fisher reflected on the game saying, “The key factors
that led to the win were the boys were able to play great defense all night. We threw a lot of
different looks at Blue Hill, and we were able to find a system that worked. They are very smart
players, so it makes it easy to throw out different variations against good teams like Blue Hill. They all
stepped up and made contributions when we needed them. Being able to knock down free
throws at the end of the game was a sigh of relief.” The Mustangs were able to end the week
with their first sweep of the year.