Menu
Malden, Portageville advance to Bootheel Conference finals
MALDEN – The Malden Green Wave rolled to a big win Monday 62-55 against an uber-talented South Pemiscot High School Bulldogs program in the Bootheel Conference Tournament semifinals.
Malden Head Coach Mike Kilgore's 16-3 Green Wave team moves on to the finals and faces Portageville Head Coach T.J. Smith's formidable 13-6 Bulldogs squad at 5 p.m. Thursday at home to decide the championship.
Malden started Payton Woodard, Quamareous Farmer, Tylyn Mathies, Trey Miller and center Marcus Burton. South Pem started Ty Campbell, Robert Farmer, Jadie Morton, Logan Southern and Jaterion Smith.
Kilgore commended both Bulldogs' organizations regarding their successes this year and explained the importance of Malden's victory over South Pem.
"It was a much-needed win," Kilgore said postgame. "It's been a while since Malden was in this position, and to be at home playing for a conference championship? There's no better feeling."
Malden was down 36-33 at the half, but one quarter later led by 10, 52-42 and closed out the contest against the Bulldogs 62-55.
South Pem Head Coach Jordan McGowan said his game plan was solid and he was proud of his team's execution. He complimented Kilgore's coaching, his squad's efforts and beyond that, its second efforts.
"Props to Malden," McGowan said. "They made a couple of adjustments that really made an impact for them.
"We knew the run-and-jump was coming," he said of Burton's slam dunk that stirred the crowd to a frenzy. "My young kid was coming off the bench. They made an adjustment there and scored a couple of good buckets in the third quarter. That kind of sealed the deal and we could never get over the hump after that."
The Green Wave will tune up with a couple practices prior to Thursday's championship match, Kilgore noted.
"Biggest thing is just making sure we get positive reps in practice," Kilgore said. "We don't take any opponent lightly. "We'll be ready to play on Thursday," he added positively. "Everybody's good. Everybody's healthy. Everybody's excited."
If the town is as enthused as it should be about the success of Kilgore's program, so are his players. A number of the normally-shy athletes exited their shells postgame, expressed their feelings about Monday's contests, and spoke about their anticipation with respect to Thursday's tournament championship.
The Green Wave's 1,000-point, 6', 185 lb., senior guard Quamareous Farmer added 19 points to his running total Monday and said he's prepared to play at peak performance during Thursday's showdown.
"We started off slow," Farmer said. "But we picked it up. Overall, it was a good game. We pulled it out. I feel good about the finals. I've been on varsity all four years and this is the first time that we made it to the championship. I'm ready to make history."
Malden senior guard Payton Woodard scored 13 against South Pem and said he looks forward to facing Portageville on the court Thursday.
"This is my last year here at Malden," Woodard mused. "I'm glad to be in the finals.
"I think we can pull it off," he added. "Portageville is a strong team. I think if we play up to our ability, what we know we can do and what we've proved we can do, we'll be okay."
Junior forward and guard Tylyne Mathies said the championship stakes are high, and the Green Wave will play on point Thursday or face defeat.
"I think we played well tonight," Mathies said. "We're really gonna have to play better against Portageville than we played tonight against South Pem.
"We played Portageville earlier this season and they are a tough club," he continued. "I think it will be pretty close. I'm excited. This is my second year varsity. Last year we won the conference. This year, it would feel good winning and knowing we won back-to-back."
Smith's Bulldogs caged the Senath-Hornersville Lions in a tight game Saturday to advance to Monday's semi-finals and earned its seat at the tournament's well-stocked banquet table by defeating Caruthersville High School Head Coach Lamonte Bell's 11-5 Tiger squad.
"Portageville always plays smart basketball," Bell told The Delta Dunklin Democrat. "We needed to come out and force them to do the things they don't like to do.
"That was our game plan," he added. "Rebound the ball and get out fast. We beat them in December. Couldn't get it done tonight."
Smith's expectations for Thursday's championship match?
"I expect a GAME," Smith emphasized. "Malden is ultra-athletic.
"They're gonna come out and compete," Smith continued. "We gotta take care of the basketball, knock down some shots and rebound. We lost by nine to them earlier this season. It was a pretty competitive game. We were coming off of three practices with a football run. With the bad weather we had recently we had to rearrange a little bit. But we got everything in and now we put that behind us and we're playing successful ball."
Kilgore said Thursday's rematch between the Green Wave and the Bulldogs could be epic.
"We played Portageville a week or two ago," Kilgore said. "They're tough.
"They're strong," he added. "They're good with the ball. Tonight they played well against Caruthersville. It'll be a tough battle."
The Green Wave's freshman guard Zion Bell summed up the team's feelings about Thursday's final thoughtfully and with youthful exuberance.
"I'm healthy and excited about playing in the championship round here at home," Bell said. "I feel like this will be a tough game against Portageville.
"But we can take it to 'em!" he exclaimed. "We can win."