Malcom’s big night lifts F-M to win

TABOR - Fremont-Mills scored the game’s first 17 points and got 35 points from Jake Malcom in a 75-32 victory over Essex in the Class 1A, District 7 play-in round Friday in Tabor.

The Knights (8-14 overall, 4-6 in the Corner Conference), who had lost four of five entering the postseason, never let the Trojans (2-19) get comfortable on either end of the court. Fremont-Mills pressed defensively from the opening tip and pounded the ball inside again and again on the smaller Essex frontcourt.

“It’s a good win for us,” said Fremont-Mills coach Steve Raymond after the game. “You use the old Jim Valvano (line) ‘survive and advance.’ We wanted to make sure on the offensive end we attacked from the inside out and defensively we put as much pressure on them as we could.”

And pressure them the Knights did. They forced 10 turnovers in the opening six minutes of the game and led 17-0 before the Trojans could muster a point. Malcom scored 12 of the Knights’ points in the run and had 23 in all in the first half.

Fremont-Mills didn’t close the half as strongly as they opened it, however, allowing Essex to hang around. The Trojans trailed by 13 for much of the second quarter before F-M took a 39-21 lead into halftime.

The Knights came out red hot to open the third quarter, rattling off 18 straight points to take a 57-21 lead with just over four minutes to go.

“Getting the opportunity to sprint the floor and loosen up the muscles and play in rhythm is what you want to do,” Raymond said. “We got our of rhythm a little bit when we subbed but those are things we will fix and those guys did step up in the second half and make plays.”

The Knights shot a season best 54.2 percent (32-of-59) for the game and notched 22 assists on their 32 made field goals. Malcom was 15-of-22 from the field and had 10 rebounds to go with his 35 points. Brady Owen added 10 points and Ike Lemonds nine.

Malcom had a monster night for the Wolverines. He hit on 15-of-22 shots, including a pair of dunks, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his 35 points.  

“I like that he’s on our team,” Raymond said of Malcom. “He stepped up for us all year. I felt so bad for him last year with his wrist injury that really affected us last year. He’s getting a chance to show the talent he has this year. He’s a joy to coach. He comes to practice and works hard every day.”

With the win the Knights advanced to face Council Bluffs St. Albert in the District 7 first round Monday in Council Bluffs. Results of that contest were not available as of press time. Check next week’s edition of The Opinion-Tribune for full coverage.

Woodbine 74,
Fremont-Mills 68

Jake Malcom and Taylor Reed combined for 57 points but it was not enough for Fremont-Mills in a 74-68 loss to Woodbine in an out-of-conference boys basketball tilt last Tuesday.

Malcom hit 10-of-18 shots and pulled down 14 rebounds to go with his game-high 30 point scoring night. Reed connected on 7-of-14 three-pointers and scored 27 points for the Knights.

Woodbine was led by Cory Bantam’s 27 points. The senior connected on 7-of-11 shot from behind the arc. Paul Freund added 17.

The Knights close the regular season with a record of 7-14 overall, including a 4-6 record in the Corner Conference.