Malverne gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Thursday. They came out on top against the Friends Academy Quakers by a score of 63-56. This was payback for the Mules, who suffered a 58-50 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Despite the loss, Friends Academy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Eyan Valadez dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten assists. Valadez is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played dating back to last season. Chase O'Brien was another key player, dropping a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Friends Academy's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 0-2.
Malverne will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Freeport at 7:00 p.m. on December 23rd. As for Friends Academy, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 59-27 win against Lawrence on the 14th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
