Gideon downs Malden for first time in nine years

GIDEON, Mo. -- The Malden Green Wave traveled to Gideon Tuesday night expecting to walk away with a victory. And why not? After beating a team each of the last nine seasons, you pretty much put it in the bag before you take the floor, right? Someone forgot to tell the Gideon Bulldogs that as Dylan Cornett's 27 points led the way in their 83-66 trouncing of the Green Wave.

Gideon dominated from the get go and never trailed in the ballgame as Max Johnson's play on the offensive boards gave Gideon a quick 5-0 lead before a Malden timeout. When play resumed, Cornett, who was in first grade the last time Gideon beat Malden, began what would be his own personal coming-out party by knocking down a 3-pointer in the corner as the Dogs' raced out to a 21-7 first-quarter advantage.

"The kid can really play," Gideon coach Daniel Sexton said. "He just does things well that you cant really coach."

As expected, the 'Dogs used their patented 2-1-2 zone defense all night. However Sexton did make some minor adjustments just for Malden.

"We really packed it in on defense tonight which is a bit hard for us because it's not what we are used to doing," said Sexton. "It's nice to get the win, beating a team that is always well coached, and I think someone told me it has been nearly a decade since our last win over them. So it feels good."

The Green Wave struggled all night in getting back on defense as they surrendered over 20 fast break points following their missed shots. One bright spot for the Wave was the play of Andy Matthews as his versatile play led the way for Malden's offense with 22 points. Malden also managed to win the battle of the benches as their reserves outscored Gideon's 20-12.

As the second half wore on, Gideon kept pouring it on as they continued to outhustle Malden up and down the floor for numerous easy buckets. With eight more fourth-quarter points from Cornett, and strong play off the bench from Jacob Deprow, the Bulldogs coasted to the final.

With the win, Gideon established themselves as a legitimate district title contender, setting up what will be an interesting race between the Bulldogs and rival Clarkton.

Three other Bulldogs joined Cornett in double figures as Johnson, Deprow, and Curtis Miller tossed in 18, 11 and 12 points, respectively.

Dillon Criglar came up big off the bench with 12 for the Green Wave.

Malden did manage to win the junior varsity contest by a score of 66-59.