Malvern Leopards (Malvern, AR) backers were pleased Wednesday as they saw their basketball squad hold off the visiting De Queen Leopards (De Queen, AR), 50-49 in a league bout.

With the victory, Malvern upgrades its record to 3-3 on the campaign. The Leopards host Hope (Hope, AR) to play the Bobcats in a 4A Region 7 bout on Saturday, January 7. The Bobcats come into the bout with a record of 1-0.

Next up, the Leopards play the Arkadelphia Badgers (Arkadelphia, AR) in a 4A Region 7 bout, on Friday, January 6. De Queen will attempt to upgrade on its 2-4 season record. The Badgers come into the bout with a 5-2 record after their 62-54 league loss to Magnolia (Magnolia, AR).