Malone advances to title game

The Malone Tigers topped Altha 61-46 Tuesday night in Tallahassee to clinch a playoff berth and a chance for a district championship.

By Dustin Kent
Published: February 11, 2010

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The Malone Tigers topped Altha 61-46 Tuesday night in Tallahassee to clinch a playoff berth and a chance for a district championship.

With the win, the Tigers move on to play the FAMU Baby Rattlers Friday night at 6 p.m. for the district crown and a home playoff game.

Malone jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, but Altha responded to score 13 of the final 17 points of the quarter. The Tigers bounced back to take a 30-17 lead at halftime, and extended that edge to 46-28 through three.

Jean Littles scored 14 points to lead Malone, with TJ Smith adding 13, and Chai Baker 11.

Malone coach Steven Welch said that it wasn’t the kind of effort that will serve the Tigers well on Friday night.

“We didn’t play great at all,” the coach said. “We jumped on them early, then we kind of had a let-up. We went through the motions from that point on. It didn’t feel like we had a lot of intensity. But in the playoffs, you win and move on.”

Welch said he hasn’t been happy with how his team has played since a narrow loss to Marianna on Feb. 2, but his team was still confident going into Friday’s game.

“Fortunately, we played well against FAMU both times, and they haven’t necessarily played well,” he said. “We definitely need to shake the monkey off our back by then.”

FAMU defeated John Paul on Tuesday night to advance to the title game. The Baby Rattlers were swept by Malone in the regular season.

However, the Tigers found themselves in a similar position last season, beating Graceville two times in the regular season before losing to them in the district title game.

“I had two or three guys text me right after the game that we need to remember last year and talk about that,” Welch said of his players. “I try to forget it, but we will use it as a teaching point this week. It’s hard to beat a team three times.”

The Tigers may have to win with Smith at less than 100 percent, as the senior is suffering from strep throat.