MUNCIE, IND – The Delta Eagles (9-2, 1-2) dropped its first game, after winning eight in a row, to New Palestine (10-2, 2-1) tonight 69-56.

Delta had won eight straight games after dropping the second game of the season to Mt. Vernon. The Eagles fell to 1-2 in Hoosier Heritage Conference play, losing two games to two of the top ranked teams in the state according to MaxPreps.

Delta, one of the younger teams in the conference, has looked strong so far this season. After losing most of the starters from last season, it was uncertain whether or not the young team would be successful. Head coach Mark Detweiler and his team have proven they are not a team to take lightly.

Although Delta has been a strong team, New Pal came out at the first whistle strong and never looked back. Delta opened the game in a 2-3 zone defense, which did not work out in their favor. New Pal has not been a great shooting team, just 35% from deep on the season, but tonight, the Dragons dropped nearly every shot that went up.

Detweiler was unhappy with the effort his team showed to open tonight’s game. A team that has had strong starts in most of their games, tonight was sluggish offensively and New Pal seemed to pick them apart on the defensive half.

“I thought that's about a poor of a mental and physical effort as we had in the first half all season,” he said. “We did follow that up with a much better physical effort and mental effort in the second half. We needed to put a whole game together.”

At halftime, Delta trailed 33-13, the largest halftime deficit of the season. The 20-point difference proved to be too much to overcome for the Eagles. Even with the quick start Delta had to open the second half, they were unable to gain any traction or momentum for it to make a major difference on the scoreboard.

“This group has had some really good second halves throughout the year,” Detweiler said. “We just got to get off to some better starts. If we could play the first half like we did the second tonight, we might have been a little more competitive.”

Leading the way offensively for Delta has been senior forward Jordan Furney. Furney is averaging 14.2 points per game this season, pacing the Eagles' offense. Junior guard Lucas Bragg has been another strong offensive presence for Delta, averaging 11.2 points per game. Furney had 10 points tonight and Bragg had 12.

For the Eagles, the next game comes Jan. 15 with a home contest against Wapahani in the Delaware County tournament. Delta hosts the boys' side of the tournament, from the opening round to the championship, beginning Jan. 15 and closing Jan. 18. The Eagles and Raiders are arguably the two best teams in the county, being 9-2 and 11-0 respectively.

The two teams will play Jan. 15, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. at Delta High School to kick off the 2025 Delaware County tournament. The semi-final and championship rounds will take place Jan. 18, also at Delta High School.

Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor

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