The Morningside men’s basketball team has climbed all the way to second in the latest NAIA division two poll. The Mustangs are 10-0 on the season, their best start since 1999. Morningside coach Jim Sykes says they were very positive coming into the season with 7 seniors, figuring they had the experience to have a good year.
The Mustangs have been efficient on the offensive end. They are shooting 47 percent as a team, including 45 percent from three point range. He says they’ve done a good job of distributing the ball and finding the open man. Sykes says they guys have spent a lot of time in the gym working on hitting their shots.
Sykes says the biggest improvement has come on the defensive end, something they stressed coming into the year. He says they ranked pretty low last year in team defense, and now they enjoy forcing some turnovers and getting more shots.
Sykes says he thinks the players will handle the lofty ranking in the right way. He says it’s early and there are a lot of games left. Sykes says it’s a tribute to what the team has done and to the conference.
The Mustangs return to action Saturday at home against Dana of Nebraska.