C3D1: Williams and Marcum lead East Prairie in upset of Malden

NEW MADRID, MO. — Wyatt Williams and Connor Marcum each had 24 points in East Prairie’s upset of Malden in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament on Monday, Feb. 20 at New Madrid County Central High School.

The sixth-seeded Eagles (20-7) won 77-73 after losing by 25 points to the third-seeded Green Wave (16-9) less than a week ago.

“We played hard and stuck to the game plan,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. “They beat us by 25 a week ago and we made some adjustments. It’s a really big win for us.”

East Prairie's Wyatt Williams (21) goes up for a layup during a 77-73 win over Malden in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament at New Madrid County Central High School. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

East Prairie surrendered 23 offensive rebounds in the first matchup but did a much better job in the postseason bout.

“We knew we had to rebound better,” Scott said. “We also knew we had to get better defensive position and keep them off the block. So, that’s what we did.”

Caruthersville led 21-19 after the teams exchange buckets for most of the first quarter.

Malden's Marcus Burton (31) dunks during a 77-73 loss to East Prairie in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament at New Madrid County Central High School. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Marcum scored four straight points to start the second quarter and give the Eagles a 23-21 advantage. It was East Prairie’s first lead since the first couple of minutes of the game.

“It was a Connor-type game,” Scott said. “Pressure defense allows him to get the ball to the bucket. Malden was pressuring us. They were out in the passing lanes and created gaps for him to penetrate and score at the rim.”

East Prairie push the pace every chance it had throughout the game.

East Prairie coach Gary Scott and the Eagles' bench celebrate after the team takes the lead late in a 77-73 win over Malden in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament at New Madrid County Central High School. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“We felt like we got easy buckets when we pushed it,” Scott said. “We were beating them back and that’s what we wanted to do.”

The Eagles led by nine points late in the second quarter after DaMarion Evans made a shot, but the Green Wave were able to narrow the lead to 38-34 at halftime after Payton Woodard nailed a 3-point shot at the buzzer.

East Prairie pushed the lead to 11 points with about two minutes left in the second quarter after a couple of scores in transition from Noah Johnson and a crafty left-handed take from Marcum.

East Prairie's Rafe Byassee (4) drives to the bucket during a 77-73 win over Malden in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Tournament at New Madrid County Central High School. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Malden had a strong finish to the third quarter, going on a 9-2 run before Williams buried an outside shot at the buzzer to make it 56-49 heading into the final quarter.

“That was a big shot for us,” Scott said. “He’s our senior leader. He played great and does a great job of getting the ball to the basket. He will take it up on anybody, and he also has a nice pull-up jumper. He struggled a little bit the first time we played [Malden], but tonight he did much better.”

The Green Wave tied it 56-56 a couple minutes into the fourth quarter after Marcus Burton finished a fast break opportunity with a two-handed slam that reenergized the team.

Williams made a free throw to put the Eagles back on top 57-56, but Malden scored seven straight points to take a 63-56 advantage. The run included an inside finish from Burton, a reverse layup from Quamareous Farmer and a steal and score by Woodard.

“We got down and panic a little bit,” Scott said. “We didn’t handle the pressure as well as we need to, but we made it through their runs, settle down some and started taking care of the ball better.”

Ty Wallace, Williams and Marcum all made clutch shots to tie it 63-63 with two minutes and 42 seconds remaining.

Farmer hit another jumper a short time later that gave Malden a 65-63 lead, but Marcum answered with two quick scores in transition to put East Prairie up 67-65 with 1:49 left.

Noah Johnson finished through contact on the Eagles’ next possession to make it 69-65, and Wallace had another critical putback to push it to 71-65.

Malden refused to go down without a fight. Farmer hit a step-back 3-pointer to make it 71-68 with 45.2 seconds remaining in the game.

Marcum and Johnson each made clutch free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

East Prairie will play second-seeded Caruthersville (15-4) in the semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

The Tigers are the eighth-ranked team in Class 3.

“They’re physical and a very good defensive team,” Scott said. “They can also really score the ball. It’s going to be a challenge for us. They’re the No. 2 seed for reason. We’re going to have to take care of the basketball, try to slow it down a little bit and hopefully give ourselves a shot.

“It doesn’t get any easier for here,” he continued. “We just have to take them one at a time. We’re going to come out and give it our best effort, and see what happens. We have to believe that we’re going to win.”

__EAST PRAIRIE 77, MALDEN 73__

East Prairie 19 19 18 21 — 77

Malden 21 13 15 24 — 73

__East Prairie (77) —__ Wyatt Williams 24, Connor Marcum 24, Noah Johnson 11, Rafe Byassee 6, Ty Wallace 4, Evan Kenedy 4, DaMarion Evans 2, Kamron Farmer 2. FG: 28. FT: 17-27. F: 10. (3-pointers: Byassee 2, Williams 2. Fouled out: none.)

__Malden (73) —__ Payton Woodard 20, Marcus Burton 14, Trey Miller 12, Quamareous Farmer 11, Tyronne Lee 7, Tahjai Smith 4, Cooper Thomas 3, Tylyne Mathies 2. FG: 32. FT: 2-9. F: 20. (3-pointers: Miller 3, Woodard 2, Thomas 1, Farmer 1. Fouled out: Thomas.