Leopards’ trio Lock, C. Martin, Culp lead Malvern to huge road win against Miners

BAUXITE — The trio of Jacoby Lock, Carter Martin and DJ Culp all posted in double-figures to lead the hometown Malvern Leopards in a 10-point victory on the road against the Bauxite Miners 63-53 Monday for 4A-7 Conference hoops in senior high boys basketball competition.

Malvern avenged their loss from the first conference meeting at the Leopard Center to produce a huge victory on the Miners territory.

Lock led the Leopards with 18 points including three triples made beyond the arc. Carter Martin followed with a productive 17 points and Culp dropped 11 points to complete the Leopard triple-threat of double-figures.

Despite an intense matchup Monday, the Leopards took care of business with an impressive first half performance. Malvern posted in double-digits all four quarters of action and led the Miners 26-20 at the break.

In the second half, the Leopards and the Miners both sparked with productive execution on both ends of the court—but Malvern’s big fourth quarter made the difference. Malvern totaled 37 points in the second half with a 21-point fourth quarter that outscored Bauxite with 17 points in the final period. Bauxite dropped 33 points for third and fourth quarters combined, but in the end the Leopards prevailed to split their conference series meeting.

For the game, Leopard hoopsters’ Cedric “Ced” Simmons contributed six points, big men Tayshawn Traylor added four points and Jabri Artis had three points, while Tyler “TG” Golden and Braxton Allen each finished with two points to provide productive team production for Malvern.

For Bauxite, Braylon Walker led the Miners with 18 points and Brayden Brown finished with 10 points for double-figures.

The Leopards will aim to carry their momentum back on the road for conference hoops against Mena for upcoming action on the hardwood.

Photo by Gerren Smith PRODUCTIVE PLAY TO THE HOOP: Malvern’s Jacoby Lock (0) drives productive and aggressive towards the basket during recent hoop action. Lock led Malvern in scoring with 18 points and drained three triples beyond the arc from downtown in the Leopards road victory against Bauxite 63-53 Monday for 4A-7 Conference play.