Malone has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. Having just played yesterday, they will head out on the road to face off against the Cottondale Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Malone was able to grind out a solid win over Poplar Springs, taking the game 54-47.
Malone can attribute much of their success to Hoke Harkrider, who scored 13 points along with five steals, and Jackson Welch, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. Harkrider continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamerious Sims, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Cottondale came tearing into Tuesday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took down Altha 61-42. Given Cottondale's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 294th, while Altha is ranked 675th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Malone's victory bumped their record up to 7-12. As for Cottondale, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season.
Malone beat Cottondale 57-49 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Malone since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
