The men’s basketball team suffered a loss against the Delta College Mustangs on Friday.

This Big 8 division rival was another tough one for the Hawks, as they faced the Mustangs which were ranked third overall. During the start of the game, either team were able to get a significant lead.

The Hawks came out strong in the first five minutes. They were aggressive when it came to attacking the paint. However, there were warning signs that resonated throughout the Hawks’ offense. They were making contested jump shots and layups when the defense was draped over them.

Soon, the Hawks began to lose momentum. The Mustangs adjusted and began to go on a significant run.

“They were driving to the basket really well and making a lot of contested shots,” Hawks forward Everton Maxwell said about the Mustang’s offense.

The Hawks just couldn’t get enough good looks to make their offensive possessions count, only making 7-21 attempts in the first half.

Another problem for the Hawks was their three point shots and their rebounding. During the first half, they missed all seven of their attempts from the three-point line and allowed seven offensive boards. The half ended with the Mustangs on top.

“We didn’t do anything well,” Hawks head coach Jonathan James said. “We didn’t execute, we weren’t tough enough and we didn’t play hard on the defensive end.”

There was an interruption during the start of the second half regarding the fire alarm in the building being triggered. The game was forced to a grinding halt as the fire alarm was being sorted out. The delay lasted for about 10 minutes and the game resumed.

The second half was a slightly different story with the same ending. The Hawks’ frustration was painted on their faces and actions, especially with James.

“This is a tough conference, so you always got to be ready to play tough and we didn’t do that tonight,” James said.

However, in the last 15 minutes of the second half, the Hawks began to drain a steady stream of three pointers. Throughout those 15 minutes, the Hawks managed to make five shots from the three-point line.

“We needed to chip down on the lead early on and not wait until the end,” Hawks guard Jaylen Valverde said.

Hawks guard Gor Mikayelyan was a pivotal player of the bench with 12 points exclusively from the three-point line. Mikayelyan’s contribution cut the Mustangs’ lead to within five with less than four minutes left on the clock.

However, the Mustangs were able to bring the lead back to 10 in the last few minutes of the game. The Mustangs ended the game with a 12-point lead against the Hawks.

“I felt like as a team, we are always together,” Hawks guard Jordan Roberson said. “Whenever it looked bad for us, we are able to stay together and never give up.”