Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 12, 2024 Phejarasai (23 pts) leads Malden past Medford, 57-53 Golden Tornados get full team effort in second-straight GBL victory By Steve Freker T hey used to call Sugar Ray Robinson the toughest pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history. Malden High boys basketball coach Don Nally calls his sophomore point guard Ethan Phejarasai one of the toughest players he ever coached, period. “Ethan [Phejarasai] is just solid out there, handling the ball, on defense and when he gets his openings, scoring points for us,” Nally, who is halfway through his 19th season at the helm for Malden, said. On Jan. 4, Phejarasai did all that Nally said of him – and more – in a 57-53 win over Medford on the road, Malden’s second Greater Boston League (GBL) win of the week. The win lifted Malden to 3-2 GBL (3-5 overall), good for third place as of that day. Phejarasai led the way with a career-high 23 points for the night, spread out evenly throughout the game. The 5-7 sophomore used a variety of ways to score: a couple of “threes,” several pull-up jumpers and some crucial free throws. No free throws were more important than Phejarasai’s last two nothing-but-netters. Malden was up a point, 51-50, with Medford coming all the way back from an 8-point defi cit in the final minute and change, 1:08 remaining on the play clock. Malden was in the bonus and in possession, expecting Medford to foul and put the visiting Tornados on the foul line. “They were walking off the Malden sophomore guard Ethan Phejarasai (10) scored a career-high 23 points in a 5753 win over Medford on the road Jan. 4. (Advocate Photo/Henry Huang) court toward our bench and Ethan’s saying ‘Get me the ball, I’ll make the free throws,’” Nally recalled, as the Tornados tried to remake “Hoosiers.” Wouldn’t you know, the Malden kid was right. Swish, swish. Three-point lead. Here comes Medford with 11 seconds left and down three, 5653. After a Medford timeout, everyone in Mustang-land and his or her brother knew the Mustangs would try and get the ball in to senior Justin Martino, Medford’s quarterback, best baseball player – and on this night – the biggest scorer of the night with 21 points, before Phejarasai’s free throws. Trouble is, Medford seemed to forget what they drew up in the timeout huddle. The ball went in to someone else, and as the clock ticked down, Marino did eventually get his hands on the ball, but it was too late and the home team never even got a shot off ! One more Phejarasai free throw created the four-point win as the fi nal score. Malden got some solid efforts from everyone who got on the court. Senior captain Zeke Noelsaint had a quiet scoring night, netting just 8 points, but he feasted on rebounds with 11 and also had a whopping 7 blocked shots; almost all of them transitioned into fastbreak layups, mostly by Phejarasai. Seniors Yandel Huynh (6 points) and Savion Silva-Clark (5 points) gave quality minutes that night, as did junior forward Earl Fevrier (8 points), who took some key sections of land under the Malden basket as his own and hit 4 putback layups in the fourth quarter to extend the Malden lead. Sophomore 6-5 center Kaua Fernandes Dias (7 rebounds) and De’Shawn Bunch (5 points) also gave solid minutes for Malden. Tiny (only 4) turnover numbers also sealed the deal. “We just saw something positive out of everyone who played,” Coach Nally said. “We needed it, too, with Medford playing very well.” ‘ZEKE’ NOELSAINT: a true leader for Malden High Boys Basketball Senior captain hoping to help steer Tornados back to MIAA State Tournament this season By Meriam Bouchtout Malden HS Blue and Gold A s the season approaches its midpoint, another great Golden Tornados captain is working hard to bring passion and spirit into the hallways and basketball court of Malden High School.Senior Captain Ezechiel “Zeke” Noelsaint is prepared to lead the Boys Basketball Team to victory this year. Noelsaint, who is also a twoyear captain of the MHS Baseball Team in the spring season, said he has always felt a passion toward playing sports and has always felt that it was something natural for him. “Sports always run in my family; my brother played baseball, basketball, football, all of that, you know. It just kinda stuck,” said Noelsaint. “It’s like a brotherhood when you join with people you’ve never met before and become brothers.” Noelsaint said he is considering pursuing being a college student-athlete in basketball or perhaps baseball. “I’ll just try to pursue it as far as I can at least,” expressed Noelsaint. “He’s my guy,” said Malden High basketball senior guard Yandel Huynh, a teammate and friend of captain Noelsaint. “He’s a great role model, a great provider, he gets everyone hyped up on practice, he’s very respectful, you know.” Noelsaint wears the number 22 and bears the responsibility of being captain with grace. “He’s amazing, he’s always leading us on and off school, he’s always making sure our work is done, he’s always supporting us, you know what I mean? He is always making sure we execute,” expressed Huynh. “He’s very respectful, always making sure everyone’s on track, you know? He’s the guy you can count on,” said junior Earl Fevrier, another player on the basketball team. Fevrier added, “his leadership skills are perfect – always leading everybody to the right path.” Though the season has just begun, one thing can be said for certain: Noelsaint has made an impact on Malden High School both on and off the court. Malden had a great week last Ezechiel “Zeke” Noelsaint is the senior captain of the Malden High Boys Basketball Team. (Courtesy/Meriam Bouchtout/MHS Blue and Gold) week, but had a tough loss Tuesday at home against Lynn English, which leaves them at 3-6 overall heading into last night’s home date versus Everett High. “We are hoping to have a strong second half of the season and get a spot in the State Tournament, that’s our goal,” Noelsaint said. —The Blue and Gold is the student newspaper at Malden High School and has been continuously for over 100 years. Zeke Noelsaint scores in a win over Chelsea. (Advocate Photo/Henry Huang)
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