MALDEN -- In a preview of a possible second-round matchup in next week's MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 tournament, Malden used a strong first half to defeat Twin Rivers 69-54 on Tuesday.

The Royals will have the No. 2 seed while the Green Wave will have the No. 3 seed at Greenville when the tournament gets underway Saturday.

"They just took it to us," Twin Rivers coach Rob Brown said.

The Green Wave outscored the Royals by seven points in each of the first two quarters, helped by their aggressive defense, which intimidated Twin Rivers shooters throughout the game.

Malden recorded 14 blocked shots, led by Nick Perkins' four. Perkins had a solid all-around game as he finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

"Nick is our leading scorer. He does it all and every night he can have a double-double," Malden coach Robert Ison said.

Perkins scored his first five points late in the first quarter to break an 8-8 tie and give the Green Wave the lead for good. A layup by Michael Johnson to beat the buzzer in the first quarter capped off a 9-0 Malden run that gave the Green Wave a 15-8 lead.

On the other end of the floor, the Royals struggled to knock down shots throughout the game. Although they gave themselves plenty of second chances by crashing the offensive glass, the Royals came up empty time after time in the presence of the Green Wave's shot blockers.

"We were attacking the way we wanted to," Brown said. "We were getting inside and getting high-percentage shots. They were just swatting them every way they could."

The Green Wave also used intense defensive pressure to try to keep the ball out of the hands of the Royals' shooters.

"You don't want Twin Rivers to get rolling on 3s, so we tried to make sure we had somebody to check off on their shooters," Ison said.

The Royals put together a 7-0 run in the third quarter sparked by a fast-break layup by Kyle Oberkramer to cut the lead to 36-25, and then used the free-throw line to make the game interesting in the fourth quarter.

Ryan Miller, who has missed time late this season due to mononucleosis, came up big in the fourth quarter for the Royals, making 6-of-6 free throw attempts and adding a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 54-47 before a final push by Malden.

"He's a good athlete. He did a good job attacking the basket," Brown said of the sophomore Miller.

Although his team came out on top on Tuesday, Ison said the Royals will be dangerous in the district tournament.

"It seems like when it comes to district time, teams are better," he said. "I guarantee you if we get through the first round and meet them in the semifinals, they'll be a different team."

On the other side, Brown said his team should not be discouraged by the loss.

"My kids gave me everything they had," he said. "We'll just go back to work tomorrow and see what we can do."