Mustangs Cage Bluebirds

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By Dave Schabell

WOW!  The history between the Brossart Mustangs and the Highlands Bluebirds is that the games between the two conference rivals are normally close, with Brossart having won the previous four meetings between the two squads.  The Mustangs broke from tradition on Friday night on Skyline Chili night in the SyDome and ran roughshod over this Bluebird team, that many consider to be much improved over last year's unit, scoring a 30 point win, 68-38.
   The Mustangs simply dominated on both ends of the floor, and Justin Saunders put on a scoring clinic in the first half, recording 19 points and spearheading an offensive onslaught that led to a 34-17 halftime lead.  Alex Trentman put a complete game together as well complimenting Saunders' big first half with one of his own, scoring 9 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and blocking several shots.  Saunders would score only one point in the second half before going down hard on his tailbone early in the third period, and sat out the rest of the contest, watching his teammates continue to pull away without him to win easily.  Saunders ended the night with 20 points, while Trentman added 7 points in the second half to finish the night with a double-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots.  No Bluebird reached double figures.  Drew Houliston came closest with 9 tallies.
   With the win the Mustangs improve to 6-0 on the
season and 2-0 in the NKAC Division II conference race,
with Newport coming to town on Monday. 

   The JVs waited until the 11th hour, after two of their mainstays headed to the locker room to prepare for the varsity event to make an effort to overcome a 15 point deficit with under five minutes to play in the game.  From the point that Highlands led 43-28, the Mustangs, now sensing the urgency, unleashed a 16-0 run that gave them the lead with 14 seconds to go in the contest.  It was the only lead the Mustangs enjoyed up to that point.  However, Highlands had one more bullet in their arsenal, a baseline basket by sophomore Justin Weyer, that allowed the Birds to retake the lead and hang on to win the game 45-44, handing the home team their first setback of the season.  Ted MacDonald led the Mustangs with 11, and Jon Zink put up 9, with seven of those points coming in the pivotal fourth quarter.  The Mustang JVs will look to get back to their winning ways on Monday against Newport, and avenge only one of three losses from the 2011-12 campaign, a 49-39 thumping from these same Wildcats.   

    The Freshmen Mustangs dispatched the Bluebirds 45-37 in a game that wasn't really that close.  The home team dropped a 14-4 first quarter on the visitors and never looked back, leading 24-14 at the half, and 36-25 after three quarters of play.  In the fourth quarter the Mustangs got ultra-conservative, while allowing themselves to be outscored 12-7 to account for the final score.  Dylan Geiman led all scores with 12 points, and Jacob Zai-guy added 11, as eight Mustangs put ink in the scorebook.  The Mustang greenies improve to 5-2 on the season and have won their last 4 in a row.  Theey host Newport at 4:30pm to tip-off a tripleheader with the Newport Wildcats on Monday.