Sometimes you need a wake-up call. That is exactly what the Malcolm boys’ basketball team got in their season opener, Dec. 6 at Weeping Water. The Clippers found themselves trailing by six points at halftime and that did it.
“They didn’t like how that felt,” Malcolm head coach Chris Lewandowski said. “They knew this was a team they could beat, and they went out and did something about it.”
The Clippers outscored the Indians 35-7 in the second half to run away with a 56-34 win.
What Malcolm lacked in the first half, it found in the second as Weeping Water went scoreless in the third quarter.
“Our defensive intensity wasn’t there early in the game,” Lewandowski said. “That changed in the second half and our defense started creating opportunities for our offense and things changed in a hurry.”
Three veteran players led the way for Malcolm. Maclain Beach, a junior, had a double double as he scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Seniors Jaydin Little and Kyle Henson had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“We lost the bulk of our scoring and rebounding to graduation last year,” Lewandowski said. “It was good to see some of our older, former role players, step up and lead the way.”
A pair of freshman are the first two off the bench for Malcolm. Hayden Frank and Drew Johnson each scored four points in their high school debut.
“They’re young but they’ve played a lot of basketball,” Lewandowski said. “I think we’ll be able to count on them for some nice things this year.”
The next night, things were different as the Clippers made the long road trip to face the defending Class C1 state champions, Auburn. The Bulldogs return everyone this season and appear to be in midseason form already as they dominated Malcolm 83-42.
“There wasn’t much they did wrong,” Lewandowski said. “They hurt you inside with their big guy and outside with excellent shooting.”
Cam Binder – last year’s state championship game hero – scored 28 to lead Auburn while 6-8 senior Josh Lambert added 20 from inside.
Once again, Beach led the way for Malcolm as he scored 15 points. Junior sharp shooter Malcolm Saltzman added 11.
The Clippers (1-1) play their home opener Tuesday night against a Conestoga (1-0) team that narrowly defeated Louisville 68-67 during the opening weekend.
“They have a really good guard, one of the best in the conference,” Lewandowski said. “They love to shoot three pointers which means they’ll stretch our defense.
“The key for us will be rebounding the ball.”
Malcolm will travel to Stromsburg Saturday, Dec. 14, to face Cross County (1-1).
“Cross County is a well-disciplined team,” Lewandowski said. “We got them last year so, I’m sure they’re looking for some redemption.
“We’ll have to limit our errors, take care of the ball, take good shots and crash the boards.”
