Another season has come and gone for the Malad boys basketball team as they played their last game in the 3A 5th district tournament.  While their loss to the talented West Side Pirates ended their chances for future tournament games and closed out their season, it provided one last time for a team of boys to come together and play a game they love.

Thursday, February 20, the Dragons made the trek to the West Side gym.  The winner of the game would keep their hopes alive of a possible play-in game for the state tournament while the loser would hang up their shoes for the season.

Malad jumped into the game with both strong offense and defense.  Easton Green, playing defense at the top of the key for the Dragons, had a number of defensive opportunities turn into scoring moments.  Using his quick hands and even quicker feet, Green picked the ball from the Pirate point guard to take it down court for the layup and bonus shots at the free throw.  Halfway through the first quarter, Malad inched ahead with Green’s made free throw, 5-4.

West Side hit a foul shot, then two three point plays- a block shot coupled with a made free throw, followed by a shot from the outside- to pull ahead 5-11.  Carter Carey came off the left wing to drive into the wing and hit the pull up jumper to cinch the gap tighter by two.  Bronson Nalder hit a mid range basket as the final minutes of the quarter began to wind down, but it only helped them keep pace with the Pirates as they continued to make offensive gains of their own.

Brayzen Gibbs came down to hit a three pointer from the right wing with only 10 seconds left on the clock, bringing them back within five points of West Side.  But with a final possession of the ball, the Pirates responded with an outside shot of their own to make it 20-12 to end the first quarter.

Over the next three quarters, West Side continued to outscore Malad, making them unable to recover the spread of the first quarter.  On paper, the Dragons offensively had equal opportunities to put the ball in the basket, but struggled to connect.  Unfortunately, they were out-rebounded, decreasing their second chance shots while allowing the Pirates too many of their own.  

Malad won the turnover battle, snagging 11 steals, with West Side committing 10 additional errors.  From the free throw line, the Dragons narrowly pulled ahead on percentage points over the Pirates.  But when all was said and down, the Dragons fell 42-58.

Commenting on their final game and the end to their season, Head Coach Zach Beutler shared, “We were the youngest program in the district by age and varsity experience.  At times our thin upperclassman depth combined with 9th & 10th graders competed well vs jr and sr laden programs.  We had several coaches express how they admired the fight and skill our boys displayed. We played the best teams in the state and competed well. 

“We graduate Brady Showell and Zach Richardson this year. They were fun loving teammates that were inclusive to all the underclassmen and managers. It was the healthiest locker room we’ve had in the three years coaching here. The guys got along with each other and that was a huge step for the program.”

Malad vs West Side

District Game

Thursday, February 20

1 2 3 4 T

West Side 20 16 13 9 58

Malad  12 12 10 8 42

# Name PTS TRB AST STL BLK

0 Carter Carey 4 5 0 1 0

1 Easton Green 11 0 0 4 0

3 Ruger Smith 9 1 0 2 0

4 Oak Smith 0 0 0 1 0

5 Hudson Daniels 3 0 0 1 0

10 Kyson Willie 0 1 1 0 0

12 Braun Nalder 2 0 1 0 0

20 Trigger Jones 0 1 0 0 0

21 Dawson Beutler 0 1 0 0 0

22 Brady Showell 0 6 1 0 0

23 Brayzen Gibbs 11 0 2 1 0

24 Justin Toone 2 4 1 0 0

30 Zach Richardson 0 3 1 1 0

TEAM TOTALS 42 22 7 11 0