Leopards earn first season victory in home-opener against Camden-fairview 57-48
Lock’s 20, Culp’s 11 surge Leopards past Cardinals’ comeback effort
MALVERN — The hometown Malvern Leopards took care of business on the hardwood Monday with a victorious performance against the Camden-fairview Cardinals 57-48 in their season-home opener at the Leopard Center.
Malvern’s Jacoby Lock led the Leopards with a productive 20 point performance along with DJ Culp accompanying his teammate with 11 points for a duo of double-figures in Malvern’s first win of the season. Malvern improves to 1-2 overall.
The Leopards coasted to a valuable start with Kaleb Bright sparking for the game’s first two buckets, then DJ Culp followed by splitting a pair of free-throws to give Malvern the early 5-0 lead down to the 4:31 mark in the first quarter.
The Cardinals stopped Malvern’s run by scoring a basket from the field and trailing the Leopards 5-2. Bright made a couple of trips to the foul line to hit 1 of 2 free-throws, with Lock connecting on both of his pairs at the charity stripe in the final two minutes of first quarter action. The Cardinals sank a bucket to close out the period under a minute which knotted the first quarter score at 9-9.
In the second, the Leopards stepped up their execution on both ends and outscored the Cardinals
9-6. At halftime, the Leopards maintained a five-point advantage over Camden-fairview, 20-15.
In the third quarter, both teams posted double-digit scoring contributions, but the Leopards sparked for a 33-25 lead—outscoring the Cardinals 13-10 and taking an eight-point surge into the final eight minutes of action.
In the fourth, the Cardinals charged back with the period’s first four points scored and cut their margin down to trail 33-29 with 6:47 left to play. The Leopards’ Culp completed the old-fashion three-point play that extended Malvern’s lead back to a seven-point spread—36-29 with 6:36 remaining in the contest.
The Leopards began to build some breathing room and got fired up to convert key plays to keep them in control. Dyelon Caradine created some noise by penetration and finished strong with a bucket for Malvern at the 5:55 mark. Culp connected on a few baskets with big man Tayshaun Traylor finishing strong around the paint area during crucial moments when Camden-fairview started making runs throughout the fourth. The Cardinals would come within two-points of the Malvern’s lead 44-42 with 3:20 left to play. Camden-fairview lost their momentum after two technical foul calls that sent Malvern to the charity stripe and Lock nailed 3 of 4 foul shot attempts to regain the Leopards spark during the final three minutes of action. Lock also buried a step back trifecta from beyond the arc that helped Malvern outscore the Cardinals 24-23 in the fourth—leading to a nine-point victory for the Leopards. For the game, Leopards’ big man Traylor finished with eight points, with the trio of Bright, Caradine and Kealon Juniel each adding six points apiece. UP NEXT
After the Thanksgiving holiday break, the Leopards are scheduled to return to senior high boys basketball competition November 30 hosting Mount Pine at the Leopard Center.