“A “close” loss gives hope for a different outcome when they cross paths again.”  Words referring to the near wins the Malad boys basketball team had, now turned foretelling as they did just that.  Turned their hope of a win into reality in a second matchup.

After losing to the Grace at home 45-48 in the previous week, the Dragons looked forward to their second chance at the Grizzlies on their own home court.  Now with a little experience on their side, they were ready to hit the court and show them what Dragon basketball looks like.

Except for their opening three point shot, the Grizzlies trailed the Dragons throughout the 32 minute game.  Grace started the scoring early, but it didn’t take long for Malad to respond.  Easton Green, turning defense to offense, made a steal high on the wing and took it down for a fast break lay up to put the Dragons down by one.  To put them up and take the lead, Carter Carey hit a three after Green snagged the long rebound and dished it out on the arc.

Keeping things rolling on the offensive side was a team effort as multiple players put up shots, threaded the pass in or sealed off the defense to provide an opening.  Getting ahead of his defense, Brayzen Gibbs cut through the key to find himself wide open on the block.  Zack Richardson saw the brief opening and hit him with the ball for the quick lay in.

Not long after, it was Richardson cutting through, this time along the baseline and up to the arc.  Justin Toone, down on the block, set a screen for Richardson,  rolling with the ball to seal the defense behind him and leave Richardson open to drain the three pointer.  

The Dragons team effort easily thwarted the Grizzly press and used it to their advantage.  Quickly moving the ball down the court, Gibbs found Carey at the high post.  After receiving the ball, Carey hit Richardson with the pass as he came down the lane and banked in the block shot.  Their hustle and execution put Malad up 21-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The Grizzlies began closing the gap on the scoreboard in the second quarter, cutting the 8 point lead to 4.  Just seconds before the end of the half, Richardson made a steal, anticipating the transition pass at half court.  With the basket unguarded, it was a race between Richardson and the defense to see who would get there first.  

Just as Richardson went up to lay in the shot, the Grizzly defense moved under him, falling under the basket and directly where Richardson needed to land.  Having his legs taken out from under him and no chance to reorient himself, Richardson came down horizontally, the side of his head bouncing off the floor.  Carey was called up to shoot the free throws as Richardson stepped out, hitting the second.

Getting the ok from the trainer on hand, Richardson returned to the game with his teammates for the second half of the game.  Over the third quarter, Grace continued to battle back, bringing the score within one point as they went into the final 8 minutes.

In nearly every game this season, the Dragons have won out the fourth quarter and this game was no different.  Using their high pressure trap defense, Malad forced turnover after turnover.  In the opening four minutes of the quarter, Grace had possession of the ball just six times where the MHS team stole the ball five times and picked off the rebound on the sixth.  Not every turnover resulted in a scoring opportunity for Malad, but it kept the Grizzlies from mounting a comeback.

Slowly though, the Dragons began to pull ahead again.  Richardson hit a three pointer off a kick out on the elbow from Carey.  Spreading out the defense, the Malad team opened up the key for Green to take the ball to the hoop for a scoring drive.  Carey found himself at the free throw line again, sinking both bonus shots.  As the final buzzer rang out, the Dragons were up 52-41, winning the game and a little redemption after their previous close loss.

Returning home to play on Thursday, January 16, Malad hosted the Aberdeen Tigers.  Following medical advice, Richardson sat out the remainder of the game’s for the week. While no team is made by a single player, Richardson’s leadership and talent were missed.  A number of younger players were asked to step up to play, and while they did well, the Dragons came up short
once again.

The Tigers went up in the first quarter 8-16, but the Dragons began to dig themselves out of the hole as they went into half time, 23-27.  Malad’s defense played an impressive third quarter as they only allowed Aberdeen to score 2 points, pulling ahead 30-29.  But they were unable to maintain the lead, slipping in the final quarter and losing 44-46.

Saturday, January 18, the Dragons traveled to American Falls to face another tough, high pressure team that they struggled to keep pace with.  The Beavers shot well throughout the night, hitting 51% from the field.  Coupled with their strong shooting was their solid rebounding as they outboarded the Dragons.  

Commenting on the week’s play, Head Coach Zach Beutler shared, “Richardson going down with a concussion in the Grace game obviously hurts. First and foremost we are concerned about his well being and that he has a full recovery. 

“From a personnel standpoint with Zach out, we are forced to call on younger players to step up and they struggled with that ask last week- offensively with ball security and execution and defensive breakdowns.

Looking ahead at the upcoming games he continued, “We will see what these boys are made of this week. We play two tough teams in Soda on Wednesday and home vs #1 Declo on Friday. 

“When they lock in defensively, focus on the controllable parts of the game chose choose to compete, they are as tough as any team in our district. When they don’t, the results of Thursday and Saturday are what we see. But I’m confident our boys will right the ship and get back on track.”

The Dragons will play in Soda Springs against the Cardinals on Wednesday, January 22 before hosting the Declo Hornets on Friday, January 24.

Malad vs Grace

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

1 2 3 4 T

Grace  13 10 14 4 41

Malad  21 8 9 14 52

# Athlete PTS REB AST STL BLK

0 Carter Carey 17 4 3 1 0

1 Easton Green 9 7 2 5 0

3 Ruger Smith 2 1 0 0 0

22 Brady Showell 4 1 1 0 2

23 Brayzen Gibbs 9 7 1 0 0

24 Justin Toone 2 8 0 1 1

30 Zach Richardson 9 8 4 6 0

Team Totals 52 36 11 13 3

Malad vs Aberdeen

Thursday, January 16, 2025

1 2 3 4 T

Malad  8 15 7 14 44

Aberdeen  16 11 2 17 46

# Athlete PTS REB AST STL BLK

0 Carter Carey 9 4 4 2 0

1 Easton Green 8 5 0 1 0

2 Holdan Tubbs 0 0 0 0 0

3 Ruger Smith 4 1 2 2 0

4 Oak Smith 0 0 0 0 0

12 Braun Nalder 8 5 1 1 1

22 Brady Showell 2 3 0 0 0

23 Brayzen Gibbs 7 3 4 1 0

24 Justin Toone 6 7 0 3 0

Team Totals 44 28 11 10 1

Malad vs American Falls

Saturday, January 18, 2025

1 2 3 4 T

American Falls  18 15 18 12 63

Malad  4 16 7 2 29

# Athlete PTS REB AST STL BLK

0 Carter Carey 6 2 2 3 0

1 Easton Green 2 1 3 2 0

3 Ruger Smith 3 1 2 0 0

12 Braun Nalder 2 2 0 0 0

22 Brady Showell 6 5 0 0 0

23 Brayzen Gibbs 4 0 0 0 0

24 Justin Toone 6 4 1 0 0

Team Totals 29 15 8 5 0