Beverly: Playing shorthanded for the second straight game, the Malden high school boys basketball team put up a valiant effort before falling at Beverly, 80-71 in overtime, the second straight overtime game between the two teams.  The Tornadoes forced overtime thanks o the heroics of tri-captain Loveng Francois who nailed his 5th 3pt field goal of the game as time expired to knot the game at 68.  In overtime, four Tornadoes fouled out as Malden finally succumbed to the Panthers.

"We really gave all we had out there and I couldn't be more proud of our teams' effort." Malden coach Don Nally said after the tough loss. "We were playing without three players, including our leading scorer but it was next man up tonight and they really performed well."

At the top of the list was Francois. The lefty senior guard had a career-high 32 points before fouling out in overtime.  He added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in arguably the best game of his high school career.  Fellow captain Bryan Mitchell-Rodriguez chipped in with 14 points and 6 rebounds.  Making his first career start, junior guard Raheem 'Skip' Langston added 10 points and 4 assists to the Tornado cause.

The loss drops Malden to 7-4 on the season.  The Tornadoes travel to Everett on Friday night to take on the Crimson Tide and Nally hopes to have more healthy bodies for the GBL showdown.

"We definitely hope to get healthier for Friday, but we also know that we have a team of hard nosed fighters that will be ready to battle."

The battle kicks off at 7pm.