Tolby Richardson of Clarkton, bottom, tries to pass to a teammate as Malden's Nick Perkins, left, deflects the ball Tuesday night in Malden. (Alex Abate/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

MALDEN -- Mother Nature did its best to stop Malden's momentum Tuesday night but the Green Wave weathered the storm.

Malden had a 46-32 lead over visiting Clarkton at the 4:38 mark of the third quarter when the game was delayed 30 minutes due to a tornado warning.

Clarkton got the Green Wave lead down to six near the end of the quarter but got no closer as Malden won 81-68.

A timeout after Clarkton began to claw back in the game late in the third quarter by scoring five straight was just what the Green Wave needed, Malden coach Robert Ison said.

"We regrouped our kids and I said 'C'mon now, you have got to pick it up and start playing again,'" Ison said. "They came out ready like I thought they would."

The Reindeer (14-4) made little pushes at the Green Wave lead but never could get closer than two possessions for the remainder of the contest.

"A lot of it had to do with rebounding and they just killed us on the boards," Clarkton coach Scott Blackburn said. "Every time we work so hard to get them to miss shots but then we give them a second one."

The Green Wave (16-6) had a 35-22 advantage at the break and wasted no time accelerating in the second half. After two Clarkton free throws, Malden's Chad Hudson made a bucket and Marvin Fields followed with two 3-pointers to give Malden a 43-24 lead with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.

"We came out and got a good start to the third quarter and then we went on a lull and they made a run there," Ison said. "The guys, after last night's (loss to Kennett), I thought they put in a good effort tonight."

Both teams traded hoops to start the game before Malden showed its strength. Andy Matthews scored on a putback at the 2:55 mark of the quarter as the Green Wave went on a 13-1 run to end the frame and go up 19-10 thanks to a bucket at the horn by Ryan Cain.

"We tried some man-to-man (defense) and of course we always like to do the (half-court) trap and it helped us out and we were able to get some steals and easy baskets," Ison said. "The kids just played hard."

While the Green Wave got things done with the half-court trap, it gave the Reindeer trouble throughout the contest, Blackburn said.

"You work on (the trap) but until you get out there and their length and their athleticism takes you out of the places where you want to shoot the ball," Blackburn said.

Hudson was the high point man with 21 points. Matthews netted 13, Leonard Burton had 12 and sophomore Zech Payne added 11 in the win putting four Green Wave players in double digits.

"That is good to see because last couple games we haven't been doing a good job of scoring, maybe one person in double figures," Ison said. "With our team, we have to have more than one and probably more than two (in double figures) to be successful."

Dustin Ferguson and Casey Redden both had 16 points to lead Clarkton. Justin Brown added 14 in the loss.