STATE TOURNEY BOUND! ‘Marino Train’ rolls to 10th win; KOs Whittier Tech and qualifies for States

Malden Boys Basketball on seesaw, sweeps Somerville after pair of losses; Noelsaint (21 pts.) just misses ‘triple-double’ in win

By Steve Freker

The “Marino Train” has been on a bona fide roll with six straight wins to kick off January. Malden High Girls Basketball stormed out to a 9-3 record when the new year kicked off: 41-32 over Medford, 64-46 on the road over Lynn English, 40-38 on the road over Everett, a very satisfying win at home on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day over a strong Arlington High in non-league play, then two more wins: over Somerville (41-39) and 59-24 on the road at Chelsea.

On Monday night, Malden Head Coach Scott Marino’s Golden Tornados made it seven of eight wins with a 45-32 victory over non-leaguer Whittier Tech at home. The victory pushed Malden to 10-5 overall and made it the fastest trip to the postseason in all of Coach Marino’s years heading up the program. This is the third straight season Coach Marino’s Tornado team has clinched a spot in the MIAA Division 1 State Girls Basketball Tournament. With Monday’s win, Malden improved to 10-5 overall and 8-4 in Greater Boston League play.

Malden had five games left going into last night’s road trip at Medford, which was played after Advocate press deadline.

It was a hard-fought win with plenty of countries heard from as Coach Marino got positive contributions from everyone on the roster, including senior captains Angie Colon and Tori Gammon. “It was a team effort and that is what we are looking for every night out,” Coach Marino said. “We win when we get contributions from everyone that gets in there and our players now expect that from each other.”

Malden led at all junctures: 11-7 after the first quarter, 21-13 at the half and 31-22 after the third quarter. Whittier made a mini-run in the fourth quarter to shave the lead to 6 points, 34-28, but Malden, led by the shooting of Ina Tolete and the rebounding of Amanda Ebenezer, kept the visitors at bay.

Malden Girls fell to Lynn Classical in battle for GBL top spot

Last week, Malden stormed into Lynn Classical High Tuesday, January 23 looking for “Lucky 7” wins in a row. The winner would leave the gym with sole possession of first place in the Greater Boston League. Lynn Classical hung on for a 38-35 win and the top spot in the GBL race. Malden dropped to 9-4 overall and saw its win streak snapped.

Malden has been getting solid contributions from senior captain Tori Gammon, who leads the team in scoring, senior captain Angie Colon, Amanda Ebenezer and Kim Tropnas, among others.

Malden also dropped a tough game at home to Revere last Thursday. (See Photos from Malden-Revere in this edition.)

Next week, Malden is on the road Monday, February 5 at Salem High (1-9) at 6:00 p.m. and then is home in its final Greater Boston League game on Thursday, February 8 at Malden High’s Finn Gym at 6:00 p.m. The Malden High seniors will be honored on Senior Night at the MHS Finn Gym on Monday, February 12 at a special 5:00 p.m. start time.

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Malden Boys Basketball on seesaw with a sweep of Somerville, ending a three-game slide

Up-and-down it goes for Head Coach Don Nally and the Malden High Boys Basketball team.

Led by senior captain Zeke Noelsaint, who was game-high scorer with 21 points, Malden played one of its best games of the season in a 53-41 win on the road at Somerville High. Noelsaint missed a rare triple-double of points-assists-blocks with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 9 blocked shots. He also threw down a thunderous, two-handed dunk to finish frosting the cake.

Sophomore guard Ethan Phejarasai scored 10 points for Malden, despite some game-long special attention from the Somerville defense. Malden also got solid performances from sophomore 5-man Kaua Fernandes Dias (6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and senior Jamal Pomare, who’s been banged up much of the season and out of action.

In other recent games, two solid wins – over Somerville (54-51) at home and Chelsea (54-47) on the road – were followed by two straight home losses to non-leaguer Melrose on Saturday (58-38) and Lynn Classical (54-49) and, a horrendous, 60-41 loss on the road to Revere.

At 5-10 overall, Malden can little afford to drop any games at all – if it wishes to play in the postseason. “We have been inconsistent and it has hurt us.” Coach Nally said. “In our wins, we have shared the ball, worked our inside offense game and played solid defense.

“In the games we lost, we allowed the opponent to dictate tempo and we did not defend like we have to do in this league,” Nally added.

Against Classical on Tuesday, Malden senior captain Zeke Noelsaint had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, including 6 points in the fourth quarter. No other Malden player scored in double digits and there was the difference.

Lynn Classical also scored 18-of-21 at the free throw line, and Malden was basically a no-show at the line, 2-of-4.

Malden hosted Medford last night at the Finn Gym at 7:00 p.m. and next week plays an exhibition game at Belchertown (Mass.) High School on the road on Saturday, February 10 at 2:30 p.m.