By PHILLIP MONTEZUMA
As the season heats up, the Malden High School boys basketball team are no strangers to competition. MHS is on the way for their sixth appearance in the state tournament in the last nine years and had clinched their spot on Feb. 6 against Belmont with a score of 81-71. Being led by senior captains Rodney Morton and Tommy Steele, the team is looking forward to their last normal season game on . Currently standing at a 11-7 record, defeating Somerville and Everett, two very competitive teams in the Greater Boston League (GBL).
One of Malden’s most memorable games happened against Everett High School on Jan. 29, 2013. Everett was in first place in the GBL with a record of 8-5, ahead of MHS. The game started off slow as MHS came into the game seeking revenge for falling nine points short in a road game at Everett on Jan. 11, 2013. This being the last time MHS seniors will face one of their biggest rivals. Sophomore Anthony Gilardi and Morton led the team in scoring against EHS. As the game had came down to the final minute, Jason Surpris had made a layup to put MHS ahead 60-57. Then Everett hit a three-pointer that tied the game up at 60-60 with 8.1 seconds left in the game. With the crowd sitting on the edge of their seats, Morton came through in the clutch by making the game-winning buzzer-beater shot. The crowd and team were ecstatic as Morton had embraced the crowd after making the basket, as the fans and MHS cheerleaders followed by storming him on the court. That game was one of Morton’s biggest games in his basketball career.
The game and Morton’s winning shot had sparked quite an explosion on social media sites such as, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, showing Malden pride.
