SAN FRANCISCO —With just nine players suited up for Wednesday’s trip to Lick-Wilmerding, the Stuart Hall Knights needed someone to step up in order to avoid another lopsided defeat.
That’s where Mav Malabey stepped in.
The senior center scored 12 points, making the most of his opportunities as Stuart Hall beat the Tigers 48-38, snapping a skid of four losses in five games, including three by at least 22 points.
“He’s a skilled guy,” Stuart Hall head coach Charley Johnson said. “I think he’s one of those kids who doesn’t know how good he can be.”
Having spent much of the prior month on the bench, including Tuesday night’s 39-point defeat at University, Malabey capitalized on his chances in the starting lineup as Stuart Hall (11-6, 1-1 BCL-West) took control with a 16-2 third quarter.
“Yesterday, I didn’t have that much energy. I brought the energy today, and it made a big difference,” Malabey said. “When their big was out, it was my time to take advantage against a couple of small players.”
Colly Urdan, a four-year starting forward for Lick-Wilmerding (9-5, 0-1), picked up his third and fourth fouls early in the third quarter, allowing Malabey to go to work. He scored off a pair of Jackson Jung assists as the Knights scored the first 14 points of the third quarter. When Malabey finally got a brief rest at the end of the period, Evan Marriot, a seldom-used forward forced into action, scored on an uncontested putback at the buzzer.
Jung, who scored 10 for the Knights, hit a 3-pointer to give the visitors their largest lead, a 43-22 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter. The Tigers did fire back with a 14-2 run of their own, closing to nine with 2:27 left on Max Meyer’s 3-pointer off a Jake McDonald offensive rebound, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
“We rely on Colly to do a lot for us,” said Lick-Wilmerding head coach Eliot Smith, whose team was without point guard Kevin Guevarra and four-year varsity player Jace Borkholder. “We went from losing our big guy to cutting it to nine. Our guys really played together.”
Meyer scored 17 to lead the hosts, connecting on three of his five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Brandon Lum led Stuart Hall with 17, including the final basket of an 18-7 second quarter off a Jessie Steyer assist. The Knights held an early 6-0 lead, but Meyer scored eight as the Tigers closed the first on a 13-0 run.
Stuart Hall countered by opening the second quarter on a 14-2 surge that started on a Lum 3-pointer and ended on Jake Goodman’s 3-pointer off a Steyer offensive rebound.
The Knights are scheduled to play their first home league game of the season on Tuesday against Marin Academy (4-7). Lick-Wilmerding is slated to host San Domenico (3-8) at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
