Malone leads Team Philly past Competitive Edge at Donofrio Classic

CONSHOHOCKEN >> Xzavier Malone was setting up his teammates, weaving through defenders, and dropping threes from the outside.

With roughly five minutes left to play, there was just one thing left to do.
“I was craving for one all game,” Malone said with a grin, speaking of his emphatic, one-handed slam, which helped finish off a dominant performance by Team Philly Wednesday night. “I was craving for one all game…That’s probably why I didn’t get one until the second half. But when it just came, the lane opened up, I just took off and did what I do best.”
Malone skied through the air and dunked the final two points of a game-high 24 points, as the Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior led the way to a 100-62 victory over Competitive Edge at the 56th Annual Albert C. Donofrio Classic at the Fellowship House.
The win sends Team Philly to a quarterfinal matchup against We R One, to be played April 6 at 7 p.m.
An overwhelming performance by Team Philly included 20 points by Jabri McCall (Martin Luther King) and 19 by Ryan Betley (Downingtown West), who was twice set up for dunks by Malone in a pivotal first half.
“I’ve been playing with these guys since the summer time so the chemistry is already there,” Malone said. “It was just a tremendous team effort.”
Malone’s jumper was falling early, helping to push Team Philly to a 20-point lead by the break. On a key sequence that began to tilt control to his team, Malone brought the ball up court, spotted up and calmly swished a three, extending the lead to 29-13.
“I started off with my shot first half, got me rolling,” Malone said. “It got me into the swing of things and it just carried into the second half.”
Competitive Edge got a solid game from Upper Merion junior Matthew Faw (9 points), with four players reaching double figures. Ethan Norton (Hill School) led the way with a dozen, and Mason Ressler (Conestoga), Charlie Martin (Conestoga) and Justin Jaworski (Perk Valley) each had 10.
But a tough Competitive Edge squad was playing from behind for almost the entire way, due to a Team Philly club that seems to be on a mission.
“Last year I was a little disappointed because I had a good game but we lost in the first round,” said Malone, who will play Division 1 ball at Rider University next year. “It feels good to advance. We’re gonna show that we’re the best team in this tournament, and if not the best we definitely play the hardest — that’s for sure.”