MALTA – Luke Phelps will always remember the day he dunked and broke the backboard on the corner hoop at Malta High School.

It's just one of those things you can't forget.

Like the Mustangs' lone Little Ten tournament and regular-season title. And the night it all came to an unexpected end.

It's been 10 years since Phelps and his teammates thrilled the packed Malta High gym night after night en route to a 23-4 record, going down as the best team to play at the school.

But when Phelps, former teammate Chad Pecka and coaches Shawn Byers and Corey Jenkins re-entered the gym Wednesday night for the first time since the school closed in 2000 – it's now Wright Elementary School – a flood of memories swept over them.

"I didn't think I'd ever be in here again," Phelps said, looking around in awe.

Many things have changed, like the backboards, the orange lockers and the baby blue gym walls. The "M" in the school's front yard has been turned upside to make a "W." And other things are gone for good, like the Mustang and Little Ten logos on the floor, the boys locker room and the baseball field behind the school is now a cornfield.

But other things, like the red and white movable stage wall and the memories of those packed gyms – with people standing on the stairs and even leaning in from the hallway above just to catch a glimpse of the Mustangs.

Every win – whether it be the Little Ten title game at Somonauk, the Mustangs' Strombom Tournament win against Sycamore or the school's first and only boys basketball win over Newark – finished with a team dinner at Arcade Dreams.

"I'm still pretty much best friends with everybody on that team and I talk to them practically daily," Phelps said. "We've always been friends ever since we've been in grade school. I think that's why we were so special out here."

Why they remember

With less than 80 students, Malta was the third-smallest school in Illinois that year. And with only 850 residents in town, the crowds of 400-500 people were nothing short of spectacular.

What made the 1998-99 Mustangs so special, however, wasn't just their record. It was how they did it, with a group of players who grew up together and played like one.

Justin Allen, who went on to play at Arizona State and then professionally overseas, was the headliner. He was the school's first Division I athlete since soccer player Ken Kise played at DePaul after graduating in 1989.

But it wasn't just about Allen. Phelps, Erik Jordal, Eric Bakken and Mitch Galitz all played important roles while Chad Hintzsche made a big difference off the bench and Pecka, now a DeKalb High assistant coach, bided time until he became the Mustangs' leader in 2000.

Allen was the only senior to play basketball after high school while Phelps, Jordal and Bakken played soccer at Kishwaukee College after graduation.

The finish

The Polo Regional was supposed to be just the beginning.

And, as the Mustangs took a 10-point lead into the final minute of play in the final against Forreston, the town was getting ready for another celebration.

But that's when Murphy's Law took effect.

Allen uncharacteristically dribbled a ball off his foot. Then there were a pair of missed free throws. And suddenly, with the Mustangs in a conservative "layup-only" offense, a victory no longer was a sure thing.

With seven seconds left, Forreston's Jonathan Schneiderman scored on a reverse layup to give Forreston the lead for good. Schneiderman, who went on to play four successful seasons at the University of Illinois-Chicago, scored the Cardinals' final 17 points and sent the Mustangs home disappointed.

"I still relive that one all the time," said Byers, now the softball coach and a teacher at Stillman Valley. "I knew whoever won that game had a good chance to go downstate. We did everything right up until that point."

The Aftermath

Not many knew it at the time, but just one year later Malta High would close and Malta students would be sent to DeKalb High.

In the 2000-01 season, Pecka took over as the team's star while Jenkins got his first head coaching job after Byers left for Stillman Valley. Enrollment slipped to nearly 60 students and the Mustangs struggled.

But, when the final season ended, the players still wore their emotions in the open. They knew it would be the last time any player would wear the Mustangs' jersey.

"It was tough because you get to know those kids so well," Jenkins said. "And it made it really emotional for those kids on the floor."

Pecka and Barry Galitz were the only players to continue playing basketball at DeKalb High the next season. And that summer – alumni, students and the Malta community – gathered to remember the school one last time.

For some, however, the memories of Malta High will never die.

"I've seen Malta graduates do well," Byers said. "So to say a small school can't produce quality education, I think, is misleading. I think the staff here, the administration and school board, really focused on giving a good education."