Basketball Recap: Jamerious Sims' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Malone over Graceville

After flying high against Vernon last Tuesday, Malone came back down to earth. The matchup between the Malone Tigers and the Graceville Tigers didn't end well, with the Malone Tigers falling 52-34. Malone was not able to repeat the success they had when they faced Graceville earlier this season, when they won 57-54.

Jamerious Sims

Steals

01/13/25 @ Graceville	2
01/07/25 @ Vernon	4
01/06/25 vs Holmes County	4

Several Tigers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jamerious Sims, who posted eight points and 13 rebounds. Sims is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Everett Welch, who had four points in addition to eight boards and three blocks.

Even though they lost, Malone smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Graceville got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Bryson Reynolds out in front who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Reynolds a new career-high in assists (four). Jamaris Gainer was another key player, putting up 13 points and five boards.

Malone's record is now 11-6. As for Graceville, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-9 record this season.

Malone will be playing at home against Liberty County at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Liberty County knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four games -- so hopefully Malone likes a good challenge. As for Graceville, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 59-53 loss against Bozeman on the 14th.