It was another full week of basketball for the Malad Dragon team, taking on Aberdeen twice with a home game against North Gem between the two bouts.  Despite claiming only one win of the three games, the MHS team saw great improvement as they moved through their week’s games.

 Starting off the week in Aberdeen to take on the Tigers, the Dragons went up against their third district opponent of the season on Tuesday, January 23 as they made up their earlier postponed matchup.  The game took a slow start with the Dragons leading 2-0 until Aberdeen scored halfway through the first quarter.  With just over two minutes left in the opening quarter, Aberdeen began to make headway on the scoreboard.  Leading 5-11 at the start of the second quarter, the Tigers continued to outscore the Dragons as they finished out the first half.  The Malad offense did well to patiently work the ball around and capitalized on open shots, but couldn’t get the ball to fall in the hoop and trailed 25-14 at the half.

But the Dragons began to sing a different tune as they started into the third quarter, putting up shots to close the gap on the scoreboard, outscore the Tigers and eventually take over the lead.  In their first possession of the quarter, Zack Richardson found himself with the ball in the corner, kicking it into Braylen Tripp on the block.  Catching the ball, Tripp found himself too far under the basket.  With three defenders on him and needing to pass back out, Tripp saw Baylor Bean open and moving down the lane.   Grabbing the quick pass, Bean took a strong dribble across the key to the basket for a crossover lay up and the first two points of the half.  

Ben Peterson added another three points to the Dragon score on the next trip down the floor, hitting the shot after Ryan Hubbard connected with the pass from the high post corner of the key.  Petersen attempted the same shot the following possession but came up short, only to have Tripp save the ball as it headed out of bounds, tipping it into Hubbard for a quick score.  

The Tigers managed a score here and there, but the Dragon defense were quick on their feet, moving together to leave few opportunities for Aberdeen to attack the basket or put up a long shot.  With 24 seconds left of the third quarter, Malad took over the 36-35 after Richardson picked up the rebound, connecting with Tripp for the outlet pass.  Tripp hustled the ball down the court, drawing the defense in hopes of stopping the drive.  Finding Brady Showell open just behind the defense, Tripp bounced the ball down the block where Showell put it up for the Dragon’s final score of the quarter.

Unfortunately, the Dragons were able to keep the same pace as they played through the fourth quarter.  The Tigers reclaimed the lead, ending the game 54-47.

Returning home, Malad hosted the 1A North Gem Cowboys of Bancroft on Thursday, January 25 in what would be a blow out game.  The Dragons opened the game putting up 20 points to the Cowboys 9, largely due to impressive defensive stops that were converted into offensive scoring opportunities.  Throughout the night, the team would tally up 16 steals and force another 7 turnovers.  The Malad defense held North Gem nearly scoreless as they played through the second quarter, allowing only 2 points to
their 12.

The second half played out much like the first with the Dragons dominating both ends of the court.  The Malad offense executed well regardless as to who was in the game.  With the ball on the wing, Ruger Smith passed the ball over to Bean in the key, who quickly sent it down to Timmy Jensen behind the defense on the block.  As the defenders collapsed on Jensen, he coolly bounced the ball just outside the key as Showell came inside for the pass and a quick two points.  The Dragons didn’t let up as they played throughout the second half, taking the win 56-22.

The MHS team ended their week of games as they hosted the Tigers in their second matchup of the week.  Coming out hot to start the game, Richardson put up three shots from behind the arc to help Malad claim the lead in the first quarter, 12-8.  In addition to Richardson’s scoring, Tripp managed to connect with the hoop as he worked the ball passed the Aberdeen defenders inside the key.

Aberdeen wasn’t quite ready to roll over yet with so much game still left to play and came out with a big three of their own to start the second quarter.  But as they set up their offense for another scoring run, Tripp picked off the pass for a Dragon steal.  Pushing the ball down the court and with defenders on his heels, Tripp brought the ball down for a two handed dunk.

The Dragons continued to lead as the time on the clock ticked down, but just as they began to put some space between themselves and the Tigers, Aberdeen would fire up a shot from behind the arc to bring them back in, tying the game twice before the end of the second quarter ended with Malad up, 23-20.

Continuing to battle it out over the next two quarters, the Malad offense and defense worked hand in hand to find scoring opportunities, all the while keeping Aberdeen from finding success at their end.  Patient and quick passes converted into easy shots both inside and outside for Malad.  Richardson hit another three pointer from the wing, followed by two bonus shots by Hubbard to hang on to their two point lead.  But with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter, Aberdeen pulled ahead 40-41.  

Malad fought back to catch up after the Tigers hit another three pointer just before committing a shot clock violation as Tripp hit his own three point shot to make it a one point game once again.  Carter Carey managed a final score for the Dragons as he drifted down away from his defender before Richardson kicked out from the high post.  With seven seconds left and Malad up 46-45, Aberdeen made a strong drive to the basket, flicking a tight shot over the rim just before the final buzzer rang out to steal the win, 46-47.

Head Coach Zach Beutler commented on the week’s games, sharing, “We really wanted that win over Aberdeen but couldn’t finish as we came down the stretch.  But it was great to see the team make adjustments and changes between the first game and second just days later.  We can’t stress enough the importance of execution and waiting not just for a good shot, but for the best shot.”

In their upcoming games, the Dragons will travel to West Side on Wednesday, January 31 before playing in Soda Springs for their second game against the Cardinals on Friday,
February 2.