Malden holds off Holcomb to win on senior night

MALDEN – The Malden Green Wave (16-8) hosted Holcomb (13-12) Thursday for their senior night and final regular season game of the year.

Falling back on their size and physicality from start to finish, Malden outlasted the Hornets for a 73-59 victory. It was the boost Malden needed to showcase and maintain their game going into an enormously competitive district tournament.

“It was a scary game because we needed to come out and keep our intensity up for districts,” Malden head coach Mike Kilgore said. “But I'd rather get a game like that out of the way now so we can start focusing on what's next.”

“A win is good, but now we're at the point where we're depending on practice to keep our intensity up,” he continued. “ If the guys show up and put in the work, we have a chance at having a good district tournament.”

Malden outscored Holcomb just 16-13 in the first quarter, with 12 of those points coming from a deluge of three-pointers by Quamareous Farmer and one by Payton Woodard. Holcomb's Max Harmon paced the Hornets to keep up while Braiden Burk added a three-point play of his own.

Malden's Farmer added another three-pointer then pulled in a steal and scored a layup to open the second quarter which all but sealed the fate of the game.

Holcomb's Jacob-Reeves Crittendon threw in another three-pointer to follow, and Payton McNabb executed a steal which he passed to Reeves-Crittendon for the two points. Reeves-Crittendon added a three-pointer and a layup that cut the Hornets' deficit to three points, Malden leading 26-23 midway through the second quarter.

And then the tides changed for the Green Wave.

With offensive help from all five players, Malden went on a 13-point run that led to a comfortable 39-26 advantage at halftime.

“The second quarter they went on a big run and we couldn't overcome it,” Holcomb head coach Michael Snider said. “They shot the ball well, they got it inside and out and they really frustrated us on offense. In the second half, we played right there with them just kind of trading baskets. In games in late February, you can't just trade baskets and you have to get some stops. We just didn't get enough tonight.”

Holcomb's Max Harmon fights off Malden defenders on his way to the basket Thursday night.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

As Malden's monstrous defense frustrated Holcomb's passing and shooting efforts, blocking shots left and right, the Hornets fought to match buckets through the entire second half. In fact, Malden outscored Holcomb by just one point in the entire second half of the game, 34-33.

“Going into tonight we wanted to make sure we work on the defensive end,” Kilgore said. “We wanted to keep it as fundamental as possible but aggressive at the same time. At this point, if you have any defensive mess-ups, teams are going to take advantage of it.”

The advantage which the Green Wave built in the waning moments of the second quarter secured the win despite several efforts at a comeback.

Nearing the end of the third quarter, Malden's Tylyne Mathies put in a jump shot just shy of the arc to break 50 points, and after a brief back-and-forth Holcomb's Reeves-Crittendon scored a buzzer-beater three to maintain the Hornets' 10-point deficit.

Malden's Tylyne Mathies attempts a layup while he is guarded by Holcomb defenders Thursday night.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

With Malden leading 53-43, the Green Wave's Marcus Burton pulled away a steal and put in a one-handed dunk to open the fourth quarter. While Malden held a substantial lead through to the end, Holcomb's Burk found the net with a three-pointer to bring the gap back to 12 points. Despite the visitors' best efforts to foul for rebounds make more shots with mere seconds left on the clock, Malden still won by 14 points.

“Holcomb is always going to bring a lot of energy because they're right down the road,” Kilgore said. “Any time we play them I expect it to be an intense game. Hats off to them, they're going to have a good run because they're a good team.”

Quamareous Farmer led the way for Malden in scoring 29 points, followed by Marcus Burton with 11, and both Payton Woodard and Tylyne Mathies with seven.

Holcomb was led by Jacob Reeves-Crittendon with 17 points followed by Braiden Burk with 16 and Max Harmon with 12.

Next, Holcomb travels to Chaffee Friday night for a varsity-only contest beginning at 5 p.m. Malden concluded its regular season and begins the Class 3 District 1 tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Green Wave plays sixth-seeded East Prairie Monday.