The Stanton Boys' struggles continue as the Mustangs lost 64-39 at home to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family on Tuesday, December 20th, beat Wisner-Pilger 47-41 on the road on Thursday, December 22nd, lost 74-44 to O'Neill in the first round of the Stanton Holiday Tournament last Wednesday, fell 57-46 to Palmer last Thursday in the consolation game of the Tournament, and lost 66-35 at Battle Creek Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs led the Mustangs 24-6 after one. Stanton won the second quarter 13-10 to make it a 34-19 game at halftime.
Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family won the third quarter 14-13 to extend their lead to 16 at 48-32 at the end of three.
The Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs 16-7 in the fourth quarter.
Trey Erbst led the way with 17 points while Myles Nickolite totaled 12 points and 7 rebounds.
The Mustangs outscored the Gators 22-15 in the first half.
Wisner-Pilger outscored Stanton 16-12 in the third quarter to make it a 34-31 game at the end of three.
The Mustangs won the fourth quarter 13-10.
Nickolite notched 16 points to lead the way while Erbst registered 15 points and 9 rebounds.
The Eagles held a 13-9 lead on the Mustangs at the end of one. O'Neill outscored Stanton 21-8 in the second quarter to take a 34-17 lead into the locker room.
The Eagles outlasted the Mustangs 22-13 in the third quarter to go up 56-30 at the end of three.
O'Neill won the fourth quarter 18-14.
Beau Wilke finished with a team-high 13 points while Erbst and Nickolite totaled 10 and 7, respectively.
The Tigers led 13-11 after one. Palmer won the second quarter 16-15 to go up 29-26 at halftime.
Stanton outscored the Tigers 16-14 in the third quarter to make it a 43-42 game after three.
Palmer outlasted the Mustangs 14-4 in the fourth quarter.
Nickolite had a team-high 15 points while Erbst totaled 12.
The Braves jumped out to a 17-3 lead on Stanton after one. Battle Creek doubled up the Mustangs 16-8 in the second quarter to take a 33-11 lead into the locker room.
The Braves outlasted Stanton 13-9 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 46-20 at the end of three.
Battle Creek won the fourth quarter 20-15.
Erbst totaled a team-high 12 points while Wilke had 7.
Players other than Nickolite, Erbst, and Wilke need to step up and start scoring for the Mustangs to get their season turned around I would say. Stanton could also use better play on the defensive end of the floor.
The Mustangs (2-7) host Oakland-Craig (9-2) Friday night.
The Knights have won 9 in a row, and downed Madison 64-25 at home Tuesday night.
Stanton has to have a good game plan for trying to slow down Oakland-Craig's scorers.
Garrett Seagren, Carter Thiele, Kobe Benne, Wyatt Seagren, and others can really score for the Knights, and I think defense is going to be the key to this game.
Right now Oakland-Craig is clicking on all cylinders offensively and defensively while the Mustangs are really struggling.
I must say I'm surprised and somewhat shocked Stanton hasn't played better than they have.
Perhaps this is the game where the Mustangs get things turned around, but Stanton has to find some answers, and find them quickly, if they want to get their year headed in the right direction.
The Mustangs have two games this weekend as Stanton also takes on Logan View/Scribner-Snyder on the road Saturday.
This is a big, important weekend for the Mustangs, and so far the week is not off to a good start.
But as the saying goes...it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and I could see Stanton perhaps winning at least one of their games this weekend.
You never know...Oakland-Craig might look ahead to Winnebago and Logan View/Scribner-Snyder might have an off game shooting the ball like they have a couple of times this season.
The biggest thing for the Mustangs, in my opinion, is to remain positive and optimistic.
Stanton has to believe they can win because believing they can pick up the win is the only way it's actually going to happen.
The Mustangs can't expect to win either game this weekend if they don't believe in themselves and one another.
Stanton needs to pull a big upset to sort of get their season headed in the right direction, in my opinion.
So perhaps the Mustangs will find answers this weekend.
The Stanton Girls have played spectacular basketball as of late, downing Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 43-35 at home on Tuesday, December 20th, Wisner-Pilger 43-30 on the road on Thursday, December 22nd, O'Neill 43-27 in the first round of the Stanton Holiday Tournament last Wednesday, West Holt 49-32 in the championship game last Thursday, and Battle Creek 44-36 on the road Tuesday night.
The Mustangs held a 12-9 lead on the Bulldogs at the end of one. Both teams scored 5 points in the second quarter, and the halftime score was 17-14 in favor of Stanton.
The Mustangs outscored Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 12-8 in the third quarter to lead 29-22 at the end of three.
Stanton won the fourth quarter 14-13.
MacKenzie Brandl finished with a game-high 16 points while Bree Burtwhistle totaled 8. Hannah Heppner added 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Wisner-Pilger and Stanton were tied at 11 at the end of one. The Mustangs doubled up the Gators 12-6 in the second quarter to take a 23-17 lead into the locker room.
Stanton outscored Wisner-Pilger 15-4 in the third quarter to go up 38-21 at the end of three.
The Gators won the fourth quarter 9-5.
Brandl led the way with 17 points while Jessie Brandl notched 10 points and 11 rebounds, good enough for a double-double. Burtwhistle added 9 rebounds.
The Mustangs led the Eagles 10-3 after one. Stanton blanked O'Neill 12-0 in the second quarter to take a 22-3 lead into the locker room.
Both teams scored 10 points in the third quarter, and the score after three was 32-13 in favor of the Mustangs.
The Eagles won the fourth quarter 14-11.
MacKenzie Brandl and Burtwhistle totaled 11 points apiece while Heppner had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Jessie Brandl chipped in 9 rebounds.
The Huskies doubled up Stanton 14-7 in the first quarter. The Mustangs tripled up West Holt 21-7 in the second quarter to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room.
Stanton outscored the Huskies 11-2 in the third quarter to go up 39-23 at the end of three.
The Mustangs won the fourth quarter 10-9.
MacKenzie Brandl led the way with 18 points while Burtwhistle and Heppner recorded 11 and 10, respectively. Jessie Brandl registered 11 rebounds.
Stanton led the Braves 10-6 after the first. The Mustangs won the second quarter 15-12 to lead 25-18 at halftime.
Stanton outscored Battle Creek 14-11 in the third quarter to go up 39-29 at the end of three.
The Braves notched 7 points in the fourth quarter and held the Mustangs to 5.
Stanton didn't appear to play their best game of the season against Battle Creek, but boy the way the Mustangs played prior to that was a thing of beauty.
Stanton (8-1) hosts Oakland-Craig (7-3) Friday night.
The Knights lost 57-37 to Malcolm in the championship game of the Malcolm Holiday Tournament last Thursday.
Oakland-Craig has had some time to prepare for the Mustangs, and given the way Stanton played against Battle Creek it will be interesting to see what happens Friday night.
You can bet the Knights will have a solid game plan, and will be ready to go.
I think the Mustangs will prevail, but Oakland-Craig is a solid team, and anything can happen.
Stanton's defense has to come up big, slowing down the likes of Dacey Nelson, Kennedy Benne, Shannon Pille, and Emmy Bousquet.
The Mustangs's scorers also need to come through. MacKenzie Brandl, Burtwhistle, Heppner, and Jessie Brandl all need to do work on the offensive end for Stanton.
If the Mustangs get by the Knights they should have no trouble with Logan View/Scribner-Snyder on Saturday.
Win or lose Friday, Stanton probably won't have any issues with the Raiders, but a win Friday night could result in better play on Saturday than if the Mustangs lost Friday night.
If Stanton is able to knock off Oakland-Craig they should be able to run the table until tough back-to-back road games at BRLD and Twin River.
The Mustangs have played well so far this year, and have beaten some really good teams, so I would say Stanton is definitely a team we could see make it down to Lincoln again.
The Mustangs appear to be getting stronger every week although the Battle Creek game was probably a little bit closer than they would have liked.
So we'll see what happens this weekend and after, but Stanton should be able to continue their winning ways I would think.
Being consistent on offense is one thing the Mustangs could work on though. If there's one weakness in Stanton's armor, it's their offense.
The Mustangs are a very good defensive team, and their offense is fairly good, but if Stanton could start scoring in the 50's and 60's on a consistent basis, they could be a threat to win state.
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