BASKETBALL

knew they had a lot left in the tank that night.

Malden got off to a good start once again. A solid first quarter featured a Joseph putback dunk and a 13-10 lead. Despite a hilarious save by Peyton Carron that deflected off of his teammate into their own net, Malden held on to a 31-23 advantage after two quarters. They continued their strength out of the half, with big plays from Bell, Joseph, Noeslaint, and Ethan Phejarasai bringing the Golden Tornados out to a 50-34 lead. With just eight minutes to go, the lead was nearly insurmountable.

But, once again, the momentum took a quick shift. Malden made plenty of mistakes and a few costly turnovers that allowed the Highlanders to get right back in the game. Still, they held a 56-54 lead with 19.7 seconds left when Bell went to the free throw line for two shots. The pressure did not phase him and he knocked down both to give the Golden Tornados a fourpoint advantage that held up. For the first time since 2018, the boys from Malden would get a shot in the Division 1 Tournament.

To top it off, the Golden Tornados blew out Melrose and Woburn (on senior night) to finish at 12-8. It was their best record in five years and the perfect way to cap off an amazing season. Carron said that this year’s difference maker was leadership. “We hold people accountable. This isn’t last year anymore. We made sure everyone knew what they were a part of going into the season, a winning program.”

Malden qualified as the 45th seed in the tournament and would face the 20th-seeded Lowell High Red Raiders in the preliminary round. Bell noted that “intense defense” and “accountability” would be the keys to victory in the Mill City.

It started smoothly for both sides. After four minutes, the score was tied at nine each. Then, everything went downhill. The Red Raiders went on a devastating scoring run over the next ten minutes. By halftime, Lowell held a 43-16 lead. That lead hit the 30-mark entering the fourth quarter at 57-27. But, Malden wouldn’t die so easily. Senior Aiden Tham took over off the bench in his potential final game to spark a rally with seven quick points. For the first time all night, the Golden Tornados were truly outplaying the Red Raiders. Although they outscored Lowell 25-4 in the last quarter, Malden’s season ended in a 61-52 hard-played defeat.

For Joseph, Bell, Carron, Tham, and Andrew Louis, high school basketball was in the past. They had played their final game. The success of this season must have satisfied them plenty.

Tham believes that “offseason work” was a large part of their success this season. Like Bell, he thinks that “intense defense” is a factor in every win and that the team is “defensive-minded”.

Both Tham and Bell applauded Coach Don Nally for his work. Bell mentioned, “he has moments when he can be very motivating and he does it with positive and negative energy.” Tham thinks that the coach has “connected with the team” more than in previous seasons and “seeing him as more than a coach really helps on the court.”

The 2022-2023 season showed the world that Malden basketball is back in business. Despite a few down years, the program is looking to return to prominence in the coming seasons.

Principal Christopher Mastrangelo is excited with the result, especially since this was the first time the school’s boys and girls basketball teams have qualified for the tournament in the same year since 2006. “All I care about is that these kids go out and represent themselves and their school. Luckily, these are all awesome kids.”