"I thought we didn't play with much intensity until that 4th quarter." Head Coach Don Nally said after the win. "We were able to get after them defensively and create turnovers and pull away."

 

Malden jumped out to a 17-9 lead after one quarter, spreading the scoring among all five starters with no one scoring more than 4 points.  In the second quarter, the Mustangs kept it close, holding Malden to just 10 points while scoring 10 of their own.  Four of the five Malden starters found themselves in foul trouble as the teams headed into the break with Malden leading 27-19.

 

"I really laid into them at halftime about the importance of the game and the importance of not taking any plays off." Nally added. "I guess my message finally sank in during that 4th quarter."

 

Medford actually outscored Malden 15-13 in the 3rd quarter and trailed by just 4 points halfway through the 4th quarter when sophomore guard Danny Perez and senior captain Mark Rogers took over.  Perez tallied three steals in the course of just over 2 minutes and Rogers scored 12 straight points, including two old fashioned 'and ones' to push the Tornado lead to 16.  Sophomore Fern Berard added two 3pt field goals down the stretch as Malden built their lead to as much as 26 points before finishing with the 20 point win.  Perez finished with 4 steals and 3 assists in the quarter and Rogers tallied 14 of his game-high 21 points in the final 8 minutes. Berard added 15 points for Malden in finally putting away the pesky Mustangs.

 

Malden now has 4 wins on the season and is still six shy of their goal of ten for the state tournament.  The team would like nothing more than to pay back the Highlanders for their 3 point defeat this Friday night in Somerville.  Game time is set for 7pm.