Mustangs win thriller

The win gives the Mustangs two wins from two starts, their best start to a season for several years.

Maitland coach Luke Boyle said there was still a long way for his team to go but the side’s depth and their never-say-die attitude gives him a lot to work with.

“It’s good to get these wins, while the team is fairly new together,” he said.

“We’ve still got people trying to find their position in the team.”

At home against competition newcomers Penrith, the Mustangs struggled for control of the ball in the first half.

Their opponents weren’t making many mistakes and Maitland were finding it hard to force their way into the game.

“In the first half they [Penrith] were shooting over 75 per cent,” Boyle said.

“There weren’t a great deal of defensive rebounds to get because they weren’t missing much.

“They were getting a lot of dribble up through the court and at half-time we talked about that and we went out there and put a stop to it.”

By the third quarter The Mustangs were a point ahead and scores were tied at 90, forcing the match into overtime.

Mitch Rueter again led the Mustangs scoring, shooting 35 including 13 free throws from 15 attempts.

“He did a lot of those through the week,” Boyle said.

The Mustangs had four players in double figures on Saturday, with Josh Clifford scoring 18 points, King Cannon 12 and Kieran Gleeson 11.

“It’s great to have three to four players all scoring in double figures and we didn’t lose the rebound count despite them shooting such a high percentage,” Boyle said.

“We’ve got a lot of experience in that side and a couple of new young guys.

“We’ve got a long way to go but we’re in a much better position than we were this time last year.”