"Well that was not an artistic victory for sure." said Malden head man Don 'Gipper' Nally. "Both teams really struggled to put points on the board but, when we needed them, our players delivered."

 

Malden played much of the night without leading scorer Anthony Gilardi, out with a hand injury for much of the second half.  With Gilardi out, Malden turned to its two other tri captains, seniors Loveng Francois and Bryan Mitchell-Rodriguez, and the duo did not disappoint.  Each player scored a game-high 15 points with Francois adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists while Mitchell-Rodriguez collected 12 rebounds and a career-high 5 steals.

 

"Anthony gave it a go tonight but he just couldn't get any feel for the ball tonight." Nally said.  "I thought our two seniors really stood out in a game when we really need contributions from other places."

 

Malden led just 16-11 after the first half, due in large part to Somerville's aggression on the offensive boards, as the Highlanders totalled 16 offensive rebounds in the first half alone.  Somerville turned up the intensity in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Tornadoes by 8 points to take a 5 point lead entering the final frame.  Francois and Mitchell-Rodriguez then combined to score 15 of the team's 19 fourth quarter points to help the Tornadoes pull away with the victory.

 

The win moves Malden to 7-4 on the season and 3-2 in the GBL.  Malden returns to the court this Wednesday night as they travel to Beverly in a rematch of last week's thrilling overtime Tornado victory.  On Friday, the Tornadoes are set to take on the undefeated Everett Crimson Tide.  Both game times are set for 7:00PM.