Hornets rally in second half to sting Malden

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Holcomb's Zach WIlliams (3) shoots as he is defended by Malden's Jonathan Coleman (12) and Patrick Wilson during the second half of Friday's basketball game at Holcomb. [Click to enlarge]

They didn't.

Holcomb rallied behind the hot shooting of Steven Kirkpatrick to finally take the lead in the fourth quarter and defeat the Green Wave 60-56 here Friday night.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Holcomb's Alex Johnson (left) drives against Malden's Luster Jordan during the second quarter of Friday's basketball game at Holcomb. [Click to enlarge]

"It was just about playing hard," Holcomb senior Zach Williams said. "We've been known for giving up in the past being down by that many, but we just kept playing defense, kept penetrating and kicking -- and we started hitting shots in the second half."

Leading the charge was Kirkpatrick, who scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, including 13 points in the fourth quarter.

"Steven's a senior for us," Holcomb coach Seth McBroom said. "We look for him for some leadership. He has to have his hands on the ball a lot, but tonight he found a way to score. Some of it was penetrating, some it was the 3 -- great game by him and great senior leadership. He did a great job of taking care of the ball as well."

Malden took a 33-20 lead on Dontavious Minnifield's basket with 6:26 left in the third quarter, but Williams drained a 3-pointer to spark a 10-4 run and get the Hornets back in the game.

Luster Jordan's bucket with 1:24 left in the third pushed the lead back to nine points for the Wave, but Holcomb answered with an Alex Johnson basket and a Kirkpatrick trey to cut the lead to 41-37 entering the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Kirkpatrick's 3 from beyond the top of the key tied the score at 45 with 6:20 remaining, then he hit another triple from the corner 28 seconds later to give the Hornets a 48-47 lead -- their first of the game.

"We've got a group that can go on runs," said McBroom. "They have the ability to go on runs when they concentrate."

Malden retook the lead on Dywhite Jackson's three-point play with 5:16 to go in the game, but Kirkpatrick hit a bucket with 4:29 to go to tie the score at 50, then added another basket at the 3:13 mark to put the Hornets ahead to stay.

Early in the game however, it was all Green Wave.

Malden closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run, taking a 14-6 lead on Minnifield's basket that dropped in as the first-quarter horn sounded, and took a 27-16 lead to the locker room.

"We've struggled in the first half throughout the year so far," McBroom said. "The first quarter (we) really just struggled getting stuff to fall in the right spots on defense. It seems like it takes us a quarter to get going and we've got to eliminate that eventually."

Johnson added 15 points and several rebounds as he joined Kirkpatrick in double figures for Holcomb.

"He's long and he can get the boards, offensive and defensive," said McBroom. "We rely on him a lot to do that. I was proud of the way he played."

Dywhite Jackson led the Green Wave with 15 points, while Quentin Jackson added 12 in the loss.