BLOOMFIELD -- The fourth-seeded Malden Green Wave surged past East Prairie 71-34 Wednesday and into the semifinals of the 61st annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament.
The Green Wave (8-1) turned a close game in the opening minutes into a rout with an opportunistic defense and attacking offense to set up a matchup against top-seeded Dexter at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bloomfield High School.
The Bearcats beat ninth-seeded Kennett 54-38 earlier Wednesday. Fifth-seeded East Prairie will meet Kennett in a fifth-place semifinal at 4 p.m. Thursday.
"We wanted to come out and simplify everything," Malden coach Andrew Halford said. "Come out and play physical, play hard. Take care of the defensive end. Let the offensive end take care of itself. I think one end complimented the other very well early in the game."
Dushawn Butler scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter to turn a close game into a 25-8 advantage entering the second period.
"He played (well) offensively," Halford said of Butler. "What even helped us more was that some of the other guys were putting the ball in the hole. Our little sophomore, (Jalen) Miller, got some easy buckets in transition. That's big for a young kid like that."
Six different Malden players, including Miller, scored in the opening quarter. Miller scored two of his 13 points in the first quarter. Chience Booker sank the first of his three 3-pointers in the period, and Donterrian Triplett scored five of his 13 points in the opening eight minutes.
Booker finished with 15 points.
The Green Wave held East Prairie to two 3-pointers.
"We knew they were very good shooting the ball," Halford said. "It was understanding what they're good at and knowing we had to get to them and make them shoot contested shots."
Mason Bryars paced East Prairie with 11 points, and Derez Tipler had nine.
The Green Wave stretched their lead to 40-21 by halftime and 67-31 by the end of the third quarter. The running clock was enacted for the entire fourth quarter because Malden led by 30 or more points.